Lies, Drama, Tears, Cheers to the Teenage Years!
by OTHBrucas
Summary: Basically Nathan, Haley, Lucas, Brooke, and Peyton making their way through senior year and possibly more...Naley and Brucas, somewhat Naley concentrated...fluff!
1. The Many Days and Ways of Our Lives

"_Nathan Scott don't you dare throw me in that pool, it is freezing outside…NATHAN!" Haley shrieked as her husband threw her in the pool and dived in right after her._

"_Nathan!" Haley sputtered when she resurfaced. "Why did you do that!"_

"_Do what?" Nathan asked innocently._

"_NATHAN!" Haley shrieked._

"_I love you?"_

"_Not gonna get away with it this time" Haley giggled. "I'm sorry"_

"_Oh darn" Nathan said. "You look hot wet"_

"_Nathan!"_

"_You do…that's part of the reason I threw you in"_

"_In the middle of December!"_

"_Yup"_

"_The minds of teenage boys…" Haley sighed._

Nathan awoke suddenly from his dream, and threw a hand over Haley to pull her closer- but all he met was air. His heart sank again as he remembered- Haley wasn't there anymore…she was with Brooke in their old apartment, and as badly as he wanted her back, he couldn't bring himself to do that…she had hurt him and his pride too much.

The phone rang, jolting him out of his deep thoughts. A familiar bossy voice appeared over the phone.

"Scott Junior, I want you to get your ass down with me and tutor girl RIGHT NOW" Brooke commanded.

"You know, Brooke, with you calling me all the time, I would be inclined to think you want me" Nathan teased.

"Ok Nate a- ew, b-ew, and c-it's your older counterpart I'm lusting after, remember?" Brooke asked, her voice softening when she talked about Lucas.

"Yeah well you're not so much lusting as you are loving, Brooke…just take him back" Nathan said, rubbing his eyes. He was sick of Lucas and Brooke's heartbreak over each other- everyone knew they were meant to be.

"Kind of like you should take Haley back?" Brooke asked.

"That's a totally different situation!" Nathan protested.

"How?"

"You nor Lucas ran off and joined a tour"

"Nathan…"

"Whatever Brooke, why am I supposed to come down?"

"Because we're all going to the beach and what's a trip to the beach without you and Haley sulking together?"

"Shut up…I'll be there in 15"

"Ok" Brooke laughed, hanging up with Nathan.

"Who were you talking to?" Haley asked.

"Nathan"

"Oh" Haley bit her lip. "What'd he say?"

"He's coming" Brooke said, watching Haley's face carefully. Her eyes brightened but she fought to keep her facial expression the same.

"Just dandy" she said, digging through her drawers and pulling out her bathing suit.

"Tutor girl, no!" Brooke sighed. "Why are you wearing a one piece when you could be wearing a sexy two piece and making Nathan sweat?"

"Because it doesn't matter how hard I try, he's not gonna change his mind…and" Haley took off her wedding ring and tossed it in the garbage can. "Our marriage is done. What's the point?"

"The point is that you love him, Haley, and he loves you! I don't understand why you two are being so stingy with each other when clearly you both wanna be with each other"

"Because, Brooke- not all romances end in a fairytale ending…ESPECIALLY mine and Nathan's since I apparently 'ran off' to pursue my dreams when HE'S the one who gave me the ultimatum…and it wasn't for Chris, so I don't understand how I'm guilty of like infidelity" Haley snapped, marching into the bathroom.

Nathan removed his pressed ear from the door to Brooke and Haley's apartment. He had heard that last bit and it made his hands clammy and his heart race. He HAD given her an ultimatum and now he was paying for it…and so was Haley.

"Dude, do you always have your ear pressed against their apartment door? Why don't you wire it or something?" Lucas asked jokingly.

"Hey Luke…" Nathan greeted.

"Hey…are we ready for yet another adventure with our ladies?"

"I guess…I just wish…nah, never mind" Nathan said, stepping into the apartment after Lucas.

**A/N: Ok so now I'm not concentrating purely on Brucas and I needed some fresh writing material soooooo badly because my other story is just in a serious slump…and I needed to like get away from that for a little…so yeah. Review!**


	2. She Sells Seashells by the Seashore

"Brooke you look great can we move it please?" Lucas begged. "I wanna get to the beach!"

"I'm sorry, a girls gotta look good" Brooke said, emerging from the bathroom with a red polka dotted bikini and a flowing skirt on. Her hair was wavy and loose around her shoulder and her eyes sparkled with excitement. Lucas fought to grab her and start making out with her right then.

"Wow…well, you look…amazing" Lucas said.

"Thank you!" Brooke flashed him her 300-watt smile that he loved and marched over to find her flip flops. Haley and Nathan, temporarily forgetting their silent treatment, rolled their eyes at each other regarding Brooke and Lucas's antics.

"Ok well lets move it lovers" Brooke giggled, flouncing out the front door. Everyone shook their heads and took her lead- she was Brooke Davis, after all.

Once they got to the beach, Brooke insisted that everyone build a sandcastle.

"But we've got to relive our childhood!" Brooke whined.

"Brooke, we're almost 18, we cannot be caught building SANDCASTLES" Lucas protested.

"Yes you can!"

"Look, that 5 year old is building a sandcastle" Lucas whined, pointing to a cute little 5 year old throwing a bunch of sand on top of a shapeless mound.

"But she's having fun!" Brooke pointed out. "And that's exactly what you all need….Haley and Nathan!" Brooke yelled.

"What?" Nathan grumbled.

"SNAP OUT OF IT!" Brooke said. "Get over your sob story, get your ass on the sand, and build a sandcastle!" she commanded.

"Jesus, Brooke…bossy much?" Haley teased, throwing a clump of sand at her.

"Haley Sc- I mean James whatever you are, you are gonna get it!" Brooke yelled. She chased Haley through the water, her hair whipping against her face. Lucas couldn't help but notice how pretty she looked, jumping through the water and splashing it everywhere. Likewise, Nathan couldn't tear his eyes away from his wife's dancing auburn hair and shining hazel eyes.

"We've got some girls on our hands" Lucas said, plopping down in the sand.

"Yeah…dude, she drives me crazy but my pride was seriously hurt" Nathan said. "And I want her back so bad, but all I can do is wish for it all to be perfect again"

"Nate, that's so dumb…it'll never be perfect again, there'll always be that little void she left in your heart- but you can learn to forgive, right?" Lucas asked. "Plus, look at her, man…she's your wife"

"I know…she's so beautiful and sweet and my Haley but I can't forget- or forgive- what she did" Nathan sighed. "I want to, but I can't"

"Forgiveness isn't a feeling, Nathan…it's a decision. You can't just wake up one day and say 'I'm gonna forgive Haley!' and it'll all be perfect again…you've gotta make the decision" Lucas said.

"When'd you get so smart?" Nathan chuckled.

Lucas's eyes shifted to Brooke's flying mahogany hair and dancing eyes and sighed. "Heartbreak, dude…that's all I can say"

---

Lucas got up to brush sand off his legs and was engulfed in two wet, cold hugs.

"Haley! Brooke! I was all warm and comfortable and you got me wet again!"

"We know" Brooke smiled mischievously. "We did that on purpose"

"You girls…" Lucas said. "I'm gonna get you one day"

"Right"

"Ok I have a challenge for you" Lucas said.

"Bring it on!" Brooke said.

"Ok I want you to say 'she sells seashells by the seashore 3 times fast…and then I wont throw you in the water"

"You were gonna throw me in the water! What!" Brooke said. "Fine…sea sells she shells on the she sore"

"WRONG!" Lucas said, grabbing Brooke and throwing her over his shoulder.

"LUCAS SCOTT!" Brooke shrieked. They had made it three fourths of the way down the shoreline when Lucas felt a wet hand on his back and the familiar smell of dampened Dior perfume.

"Lucas Scott…"

"Rachel" Lucas said. "What are you doing?"

"I can say it 3 times fast…she sells seashells on the seashore, she sells seashells on the seashore, she sells seashells on the seashore!" Rachel finished off triumphantly. "Unlike uh…Brooke"

"WOW, that makes YOU cool" Haley jumped to Brooke's defense.

Lucas put Brooke down and turned to Rachel.

"What do you want?" he asked. He was sick of her destroying his chances with Brooke and tricking both him and her.

"I just need to talk to you" Rachel whispered.

"Brooke?" Lucas asked.

"I REALLY need to talk to you, Lucas" Rachel said.

"Brooke?" Lucas asked again, but he heard nothing. Brooke was halfway up the beach and making her way steadfastly to the parking lot. "BROOKE!" Lucas yelled. She ignored him and marched faster. Lucas turned to run after her but Rachel caught his arm.

"Luke-"

"Rachel, I am SICK of you destroying my chances with Brooke. I don't like you, I never have, and I never will. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna go find my girl and apologize for YOUR-"

"Lucas, I'm pregnant"

**A/N: DUN.DUN.DUUUUN! Review :0)**


	3. A Lover's Heartbreak

"WHAT!" Lucas exclaimed. "We didn't sleep together!"

"I know that, dumbass…some other guy got me pregnant"

"Some other guy? As in a random guy from a bar?"

"Um…yeah" Rachel said.

"Why are you telling me this?" Lucas asked impatiently.

"Because I need you to-" Rachel swallowed. "Pretend like you're the baby's father"

"No way"

"Lucas I-"

"Absolutely not"

"Lucas-"

"Case closed, Rachel"

* * *

"So…how have you been?" Haley asked Nathan timidly.

"Fine...you?"

"Good…I was feeling a little sick this morning but I didn't have a temperature so I think it was all just in my head" Haley said. "But I don't think Brooke can use a thermometer, so…"

"Here, let me feel your forehead-"Nathan said, reaching out his hand instinctively before realizing him and Haley were sort of in a huge fight.

Haley chuckled when Nathan dropped his hand and continued walking down the beach with him. She shivered and Nathan wanted badly to put his arms around her because she actually did look cold- and a little pale, which he knew meant Haley was sick.

"Hey, you sure you're ok?" Nathan asked. If he couldn't do anything, he might as well ask.

"Yeah it's just a little chilly out today, you know? Rainy day" Haley said softly. Her teeth were chattering now but she tried to stop- she didn't want Nathan to think she was weak.

Nathan, however, couldn't stand to watch Haley rub her arms and fight to keep warm anymore. He reached out his arms and pulled Haley into a tight, warm hug. He draped his jacket around her shoulders and held her closer. He could feel her teeth stop chattering and her body was shivering less and less. He didn't wanna let go- he missed the feeling of her hair on his chest and her warm, small body in his arms.

"Come on, let's get you home"

* * *

"BROOKE!" Lucas ran after her. She was getting in her car and ignored him. "Brooke, come on why are you mad at me?" Lucas asked. He felt his heart drop when a tear stained face turned around to face him.

"Well, Lucas, lets see- you're doing everything in your possible power to get me to be exclusive with you. And to be very honest, it's been seriously on my mind for a while- but when you do things like talk to Rachel who's attempted to destroy our somewhat normal friendship again and again, then I begin to have doubts in my mind. So I don't care what you-"

"She's pregnant, Brooke" Lucas said.

"With your child!" Brooke demanded.

"No…we never slept together. It was a random guy from a bar, probably an old perverted man, and now she's pregnant"

"And what did she want from you?"

"She wanted me to pretend like I was its father"

"What did you say?" Brooke asked.

"I point blank refused"

"Well good" Brooke said. "I'm gonna go know…"

"Come on, Brooke, stay?"

"Stay here? With you? Why would I do that?" Brooke asked.

"Because…it'll be fun?"

"Um….well" Brooke said, looking down and playing with her hair. "I have a…manicure appointment soon anyway" Brooke started the ignition. "Bye Lucas"

"Bye Brooke" Lucas said in a half whisper. He waved halfheartedly and turned around to walk down to the shoreline.

* * *

"Thanks for bringing me home, Nathan" Haley said. She was wrapped in a blanket and was still shivering. "I really appreciate that very much, but don't feel obligated to stay"

"Well I haven't taken your temperature yet" Nathan said. He really was staying around for no reason. It was pretty obvious that Haley had a raging fever, so what was the point? He took it anyway. "I02…that's pretty high, Hales"

"Yeah and its getting higher because I'm shivering" Haley joked, lying back on her bed. Nathan turned around to shake the thermometer and when he turned back around, he discovered that Haley was on her way to falling asleep but she was shivering tremendously. Nathan couldn't resist anymore, and climbed onto the bed. He pulled Haley into his arms and let her settle there. She was half asleep and didn't really notice. He leaned his head back against the wall and then looked down at his wife asleep in his arms. He loved her, a lot. And he wanted her back so bad. But his pride just wouldn't let him.

**A/N: So hope you liked this chapter…more angst coming for both Brucas and Naley…and if you have read any of my other stories, you know that they are all purely Brucas because I am SUCH a huge fan…but I thought I'd make this one more neutral and maybe more Naley concentrated. And to the readers of my other story, I'll Never Let You Go Again, I might not update for a while just because I'm in a serious writing slump with that story…I need ideas for this one and the other one…so please review! Thank you for all the wonderful reviews I've gotten for this story!**


	4. Ah, Drama, Drama, Drama!

Little children's chatter surrounded Lucas as he sat quietly on the beach and stared out at the ocean. The waves crashed onto the shore and he watched as a little girl and her brother had a splash fight. He was lost in his thoughts, thinking about everything that had gone on. He was upset that Brooke didn't want to stay with him at the beach, and he was mad at Rachel for ruining it all. Pregnant with a bar guy's child…why would he care, as long as it wasn't his? It shouldn't have been his anyway, they never slept together.

"Sir?" a little girl inquired, her wet finger tapping Lucas gently.

"Yeah?"

"You're sitting on my sandcastle"

"Oh!" Lucas jumped up. "I'm sorry"

"Its ok" she smiled and held out her hand which was filled with sand. "Wanna help me build it?"

"Sure…where's your mommy, though?"

"Over there with my baby sister" the girl pointed to a young woman sitting under an umbrella.

"Oh I see well run and ask her if it's ok before I help you, ok?"

"Ok" the girl ran up to her mother and Lucas followed.

"Hi" the young woman greeted. Lucas was shocked- she had to be 25, tops.

"Hey" Lucas smiled warmly. "So your daughter wants me to help her build her sandcastle and I just wanted to make sure it was ok"

"Oh yeah…Sarah, now be good and no throwing sand"

"Can baby play?" Sarah asked. "Please?"

"Sweetie pie I told you Catherine is too young to build sandcastles!" the young woman chuckled.

"So what's your name?"

"Lucas" he held out his hand.

"Samantha"

"Pleasure to meet you"

"Likewise" Samantha smiled. "Thanks for playing with her, Lucas. Her father isn't exactly…there and she needs someone to play with"

"Oh no problem" Lucas said. He noticed subtly that the woman was pregnant.

"How old are you, by the way?" the woman asked.

"I'm 17, almost 18"

"I'm 23" Lucas had to fight to keep his jaw from falling wide open. But his face must have betrayed him, because the woman chuckled. "I had Sarah when I was 18, and Catherine last year…and now there's another one on the way, but its daddy's gone…God knows what I'm gonna do"

"I'm very-sorry" Lucas said. "Come on, Sarah, wanna build that sandcastle?"

"Yes…no diddle doing, like mommy says" Sarah said, grabbing Lucas's hand and pulling him down towards the water.

* * *

"Haley" Nathan whispered. "Haley, wake up"

"Mhmm?" Haley asked. When she saw Nathan's faced, she awoke quickly and lifted her head off his lap. "Nathan…I'm so sorry"

"It's ok" Nathan said. "Are you feeling better?"

"Much…look, thank you"

"For?"

"Totally taking care of me and then letting me fall asleep on your lap!" Haley said. "I didn't mean to…"

"Haley, its ok…I still care about you, you know" Nathan said. "And you also know that I hate it when you're sick"

"I know…" Haley ran her hand through her hair. "I probably look terrible"

"Actually you look…really pretty" Nathan mumbled.

"Um thanks" Haley smiled and walked into the bathroom. "Ew I look terrible!"

"Well…people you love always look beautiful to you" Nathan whispered.

"What was that?"

"Nothing" Nathan called back nonchalantly.

* * *

"When in doubt, shoe it out…I've never heard better advice" Brooke confided to Peyton as she made her way through racks and racks of shoes.

"Brooke you have a serious shoe disease"

"SO?" Brooke demanded.

"You'll be broke with 300 pairs of shoes"

"At least they'll be cute"

"Brooke…"

"Fine, fine, let's go goldilocks"

"Finally!" Peyton sighed, following Brooke out the door.

Brooke walked into the apartment and heard an explosion of yelling voices.

"Uh oh…Nathan and Haley are at it again" Brooke sighed. "That's not good"

"Personally, I think Haley deserves it"

"P. Sawyer get over it…she pursued her dreams, she shouldn't be at fault for that"

"But she-"

"Shh…"

"I CANT BELIEVE YOU WOULD LEAVE ME TO BE WITH CHRIS!" Nathan's voice blared.

"I LEFT TO BE WITH MY MUSIC, NATHAN, NOT CHRIS KELLER…YOU HAVE SUCH AN INFERIORITY COMPLEX IF YOU THINK EVERY MAN I INTERACT WITH I HAVE AN AFFAIR WITH!" Haley screeched.

"THEN YOU RETURN AND WANT EVERYTHING TO BE OK! I DON'T THINK SO!" Nathan yelled, but Brooke could hear his voice faltering. She remembered whenever she and Lucas fought his voice would falter when all he wanted to do was hold her and not fight.

"Let's not fight, Haley" Nathan said. "I'm sorry…"

"I'm sorry too, Nathan, but you accuse of things that never went on" Haley said. "And that makes me sad"

"What makes ME sad, Haley, is that I love you more than life itself and want you back so bad its killing me- but I can't for the life of me trust you"

Brooke could almost hear Haley's heart shattering all over the floor. That was a serious blow Nathan had packed. Roommate intervention time, she decided. Brooke marched into the room.

"How much of that did you hear?" Haley asked wearily.

"Enough of it for me to say that Nathan, I think its better that you leave and Haley, I bought some hot chocolate…bye Nate"

"Bye" Nathan walked quickly out the room and out the apartment door. Peyton signaled to Brooke that she was gonna leave and left quietly as well.

"Haley…" Brooke put her arms around a sobbing Haley.

"Why, Brooke?" Why can't he trust me?"

"Its not that he cant trust you…he cant trust himself because he's terrified he's gonna fall even harder for you and trust me, Haley…that's a point from which you cant return" Brooke said, looking at the picture of Lucas tacked up on her board.

**A/N: Review! You guys are soooo good about it! It makes me so happy! I smile when I read each one :0) Thanks! **


	5. Friends Forever

"Come on Brooke…lets move it! Everyone's waiting" Peyton whined. Lucas, Nathan, Haley, Peyton, and Brooke had decided that they should go out that night in an attempt to reconcile the group.

"I have to look good…just a sec" Brooke said, rubbing some foundation under her eyes.

"Maybe you wanna look this good because Lucas is here?" Peyton teased.

"Shh! Peyton! He might hear!" Brooke whispered.

"See…you guys need to stop beating around the bush and get together…its tiring ME out" Peyton said. "Ok you look gorgeous lets move it"

"Fine, fine" Brooke washed her hands and shut off the bathroom light.

"Finally!" Nathan said. "God, Brooke, you don't need to look like you're going to the Oscars when all we're doing is going out for a night" he teased.

"I'm sorry! Girl's gotta look good" Brooke smiled, bending over to straighten the cuff of her jeans. Her silky, straight hair swung back and forth and when she got up, she tossed it back. Lucas's heart plunged to the floor when he saw her.

_God…she's so pretty_ Lucas thought to himself. _Absolutely gorgeous_.

Brooke sighed sadly to herself. Lucas hadn't even looked in her direction, just stolen a few furtive glances. She swallowed back tears and plastered a smile on her face. Ok, she was definitely PMSing.

"Ready?" Lucas asked. He had suddenly appeared by her side.

"Yeah" Brooke said.

"You look…beautiful, by the way" Lucas complimented quietly.

"Thanks, that's really sweet" Brooke smiled.

Nathan unlocked the door to his BMW.

"Did Dan get that for you?" Lucas asked.

"Oh yeah…but see Dan doesn't know" Nathan smiled mischievously.

"Nathan!" Haley reprimanded.

"Well…" Nathan laughed. "Its cool, isn't it?"

"It is" Brooke laughed. "Hot ride, hot boy…hmm, Nathan"

"Brooke!" Lucas and Haley chided.

"Sorry…jeez…overprotectively weird vibes generating from you two…I CALL SHOTGUN!" Brooke shrieked.

"Come on my darling" Nathan joked. Lucas shook his head and climbed into the back seat. He was in for a hell of a night.

* * *

"Ok now we have to go to…the shoe store"

"Brooke, no more shoes" Lucas begged. "You have bought 5 pairs of shoes in the past 2 hours"

"Fine, fine…whiny, jeez"

"Well…you wanna ditch this place and go to the park?" Peyton asked.

"I love the park!" Brooke giggled.

"Well if Brooke says than we do, right?" Haley teased.

"Right!" Brooke giggled again, flouncing out of the shopping mall and towards Nathan's BMW. She tossed the bags into his trunk and got into the front seat.

"Ok, park?" Nathan asked.

"Yep"

"Alright" Nathan drove to the park and they all got out.

"I have an idea!" Brooke said. "Let's play boys against girls tag"

"Brooke, we're gonna look SO ridiculous" Hale said. "We can't do that!"

"Yes we can! I'm with Brooke…come on, how fun will it be?" Peyton asked. "God knows we need to have fun with all the tension that's been in the air" she said, eyeing Haley and Nathan.

"Fine but there are more girls than boys" Lucas pointed out.

"Oh suck it up" Haley said. "We all hide behind the trees and then on the count of three we all run out and the boys have to chase the girls"

"Ok…sounds fun" Nathan laughed, shaking his head. In reality, all he wanted to do was chase Haley and pull her into his arms, but of course his ever destructive pride wouldn't let him.

"Ready? Everyone hide!" Brooke yelled. They all ran and hid behind trees.

"1, 2, 3, GO!" Nathan and Lucas burst out from behind the trees and immediately shot towards the girls, who were running hither thither and screaming. For a few minutes Lucas purposely didn't catch Brooke, letting her think that she was faster than him. But when she called him out on it, he could do nothing but accelerate and run towards her.

"Lucas…no!" Brooke yelled as he came closer and caught her. He grabbed her and swung her up on his shoulder.

"Lucas! Fine you win" she said, giggling and twisting. Lucas laughed and put her down. He had her in a half hug half hold and he didn't want to let go. Her hair smelled like her shampoo, she smelled like fruity body wash and as usual her clothes reeked of laundry detergent. He loved the way she looked, smelled, laughed, and cried…everything about her made his heart jump and his stomach get butterflies.

"I said you win" Brooke whined. "Will you let go of me?"

"Never" he whispered softly in her ear, kissing the side of her head affectionately and finally letting her go. She smiled and her eyes twinkled like she was actually happy. Making her smile and laugh made Lucas's day much happier.

"No one chased after me!" Peyton whined. "You guys are so hung up on Brooke and Haley no one even went after me…so I guess I win!" Peyton laughed.

"Yeah I guess you do" Brooke giggled. Her stomach was still churning from Lucas's friendly kiss. But guys didn't just kiss girls out of friendliness, did they? She hoped not.

"Well that was fun" Haley laughed. Her face was flushed and red and her eyes were twinkling. She loved spending time with Nathan without spending time with Nathan and making it look desperate.

"Yeah…how bout we all go to me and Haley's apartment and we can crash there and I'll make us something?" Brooke asked, and everyone agreed. As they walked out of the park, a roll of thunder and crack of lightening ushered in heavy rain.

"I'm getting wet!" Brooke whined. "My new suede jacket!"

"Poor Brooke" Peyton laughed.

"And I'm cold" Brooke whined as they got into Nathan's new BMW, sopping wet. "And we ruined Nate's car"

"Its ok I'll clean it out"

"I'm not shotgun" Brooke said. "I'm gonna huddle in a corner in the back"

"Ok" Haley laughed. "I'll go up front" she opened the front door and climbed in.

"I'm COLD Nathan why is the air conditioning on?"

"I don't know how to turn it off!" Nathan said. "It's like automated or something!"

"Dumbass" Brooke whined.

"Come here" Lucas laughed, pulling Brooke into a tight hug and rubbing her arms. "Better?"

"Yeah" Brooke smiled. "Now if dumbass Scott would learn how to work the car"

"Sorry!" Nathan protested. He glanced over at Haley who was turned and was staring out of the window at the rain.

"Counting the raindrops?" Nathan asked.

"No…just wishing"

"Wishing?"

"My grandmother used to tell me when I was a little girl that if I wanted something so bad I would do anything for it, I should wish on the rain because the wind and water would blow it to every wishing star and if I was a good girl it would all come true…I guess sometimes I wish I could still believe that" Haley explained. "Kind of stupid, huh?"

"Not really…what did you wish for?"

"You"

**A/N: Well, hope you liked the chapter! Happy Thanksgiving everyone!**


	6. Nathan and Haley

"_What did you wish for?"_

"_You"_

Those words kept ringing in Nathan's head as he tossed and turned in his bed early in the morning. He was so shocked that that was her answer he hadn't even been able to reply or comment. All he had done was drive up to Brooke and Haley's apartment and mutter a "bye".

"Nathan…" Deb walked into his room. "Nathan, sweetie, its time for school"

"Already?" Nathan grumbled.

"Yeah…and you need to stop turning your alarm off" Deb laughed, throwing the covers off of him.

"Mom…"

"What?"

"I'm cold" Nathan complained.

"That might have something to do with fall coming in" Deb laughed. "Come on, up or you're gonna be late for school"

"Fine, fine" Nathan grumbled and sat up in bed.

"Ok, breakfast will be ready downstairs when you're done" Deb smiled and left his room. Nathan yawned…he had had a very restless night. All he dreamt about was Haley; all he could hear was her voice, and all he could see was her. He was seriously hung up on her. He glanced over at his side table where a picture of him and Haley on their wedding day was framed. Shaking his head, he walked sleepily into his bathroom.

_Over at Haley and Brooke's…_

"Brooke, will you stop the blow drying?" Haley whined. "We have 40 minutes before we even have to leave for school"

"I'm sorry that I wanna look good!" Brooke said. "It's important"

"Why? Because Lucas will be there?"

"No, because I am student government president and I have to set a good example" Brooke explained, shutting off the blow dryer and plugging in her hair straightener.

"Right" Haley rolled over and closed her eyes. She would be right there with Brooke doing her makeup and her hair if she knew it would change Nathan's mind. Even with Nathan being the macho guy that he was, somehow she knew her appearance wouldn't compensate for her huge mistake. But she decided to get up and at least fix her hair.

"Tutor girl! I am going to teach you how to do your makeup and hair and then you can look gorgeous!"

"Yeah…like Nathan's gonna care" Haley said.

"I'm sorry…you know he still loves you, right?"

"He doesn't"

"He does, and I'm positive…he's just playing hard to get- maybe you need to play hard to get too- maybe he doesn't realize how much he's hurting you by playing games"

"I'm doing playing games with him, Brooke" Haley said, watching as Brooke skillfully applied her makeup. "I just wish he'd be done with them, too"

* * *

"Come on Haley, you look fine"

"Brooke, you made me look like a whore!" Haley cried.

"A little makeup isn't gonna make you look like a whore, sweetie" Brooke laughed, grabbing Haley's arm and dragging her out of the car.

"MAROON EYESHADOW!" Haley shrieked. "I might as well already claim my whore of the year award!"

"Haley calm down I knew what I was doing…plus the boys will love it" Brooke winked. Haley sighed and shook her head. There was no use fighting against Brooke.

"Hi…whoa, Hales" Lucas said, looking at Haley.

"SEE!" Haley glared at Brooke.

"No, you look very nice" Lucas said. "Its just different"

"See! I did a good job, didn't I?" Brooke chirped.

"Yes, a very good job" Lucas laughed. In his opinion, she always did a better job on herself…Brooke Davis looked gorgeous everywhere she went.

"See, Lucas thinks I did a good job…hah" Brooke said.

"But Lucas just wants to plea-"

"HALEY!" Lucas cut her off.

"Please you" Haley finished, sticking her tongue out at Lucas and marching off to her locker. She particularly dreaded going to her locker…she was prone to run into Nathan at least once or twice during the day and they awkwardly avoided each other and passed by. As usual, to start off her day, Nathan was messing with something in his locker that was keeping him unusually well occupied.

"Hi" he said when Haley reached her locker and was busily twisting in her combination.

"Hey" Haley said warmly. If you cant beat em, join em, she thought. Two could play this being friendly then cold game that he had initiated.

"What's up?" Nathan said. He couldn't take his eyes off of her- she had done something differently, but whatever it was, she looked great. And it didn't help that he had spent the last day and a half wanting her back.

"Nothing much really…you?" Haley felt like they were having an online conversation.

"Nothing really…I'll see you later?"

"Yeah" Haley shut her locker and left. Ok, so she was pissed off, Nathan reasoned. He had done his fair share in messing with her and sending mixed signals. Maybe now was the time to stop and start trying to work on their relationship.

Haley stomped down the hallway, trying to find Lucas amidst the huge crowd of talking and laughing students.

"Hales!" Lucas called. She turned around and sighed thankfully when she saw her best friend making his way down the hallway to her.

"Lucas…Nathan is being so stupid again, he was all friendly to me this morning and then the next time we see each other he's gonna act like I don't exist and these games are messing with my head!" Haley cried.

"Haley…I would kick his ass for you, but since our relationship is on tenterhooks as it is, all I can say is that he's a jerky asshole"

"He is" Haley buried her head in Lucas's chest.

"I'm sorry…when I'm a world famous boxing champion, I'll kick his ass for you" Lucas said. Haley laughed. Lucas's absurd solutions to all of her problems made her laugh and feel better about them.

"Ok" she smiled and hugged Lucas one more time before walking down the hallway to her first class.

Lucas sighed as he watched Haley walk down the hallway…Nathan was being so mean to her, but what could he do? Just be there for her, he reasoned. He was also fighting his own battle…whether Brooke was really worth his heartache or not. He eyed her chatting some new surfer boys and wished he could toss each and every one of them out the window and pull her into his arms. But of course, Brooke Davis didn't give in without a fight.

* * *

_Great_, Haley thought. _Nathan's at his locker AGAIN_. She sighed wearily and appeared at her locker.

"Hey" Nathan greeted.

"Hi" Haley said shortly. She tossed her hair over her shoulder and checked her reflection in the locker mirror. She threw her math book in her locker and pulled out her history.

"I was wondering…do you wanna go to dinner with me tomorrow night?" Nathan asked.

"Whoa…that was unexpected" Haley laughed nervously. "Um…sure, I guess"

"So I'll come by at 7?"

"That works" Haley said, smiling to herself. Well, this opened whole new doors.

"Ok…I'll see you later then" Nathan said, smiling at her and shutting his locker door.

"Bye" Haley whispered. She couldn't believe this was happening! "Brooke!" Haley called.

"What?"

"Nathan asked me to dinner"

"See, I told you he would love the eye shadow!" Brooke said triumphantly. "I rock…but seriously Haley, that's great" Brooke linked her arm through Haley's "Come on roomie, lets go plan what you're gonna wear!"

**A/N: Hope you liked the chapter! Review! **


	7. Dinners and Tears

"Haley, you look fine!" Brooke whined. "I've told you this a million times in the last 10 minutes…your dinner will go great"

"You think?"

"I know" Brooke smiled. "Look at you! You look awesome"

"Good" Haley smiled. The doorbell rang and she jumped. "That would be Nathan!"

"Yup…I'll get it" Brooke said. "I wonder what- Lucas! Hi!" Brooke said. "What are you doing here?"

"Yeah, what are you doing here?" Nathan asked, appearing by the door.

"I'm here to talk to Brooke" Lucas said. "Why are you here?"

"To take Haley out"

"Oh…well I have to talk to Brooke"

"Um…ok, why?" Brooke asked.

"I just do"

"Ok…"

"Hey" Haley said, emerging from the room.

"Hey you look…great" Nathan said. "Ready?"

"Ready, let me just get my purse" Haley said. Nathan nodded and Haley ran to get her purse quickly.

"Have fun, Haley" Brooke said, hugging her. "And don't forget, if it gets to be too much, call me, ok?" she added in a whisper. Haley nodded gratefully and followed Nathan out the door.

"Can we talk?" Lucas asked.

"Yeah…"

"You know how Rachel said she was pregnant?"

"Yeah"

"I thought she was just lying, but she's not…and it's not mine, that's not why I came…but she needs some serious help with everything and I was wondering if you could help me…help her"

"Why would I do such a thing?" Brooke asked. "I thought you didn't like her"

"I don't, but I did date her, Brooke- and I can't see her hanging like that"

"What did she ever do to deserve our help?" Brooke asked. "Especially mine, after she nearly destroyed my life like 3 times?"

"She's human, too, Brooke"

"Yeah, and so am I, and believe me she did some pretty inhumane things to me" Brooke said. "Why do you want to help her anyway?"

"You wanna know who the father is?" Lucas asked.

"Hopefully not you"

"No…Dan"

"WHAT?"

_Meanwhile…_

"So where are we going?" Haley asked in an attempt to strike up a conversation.

"You'll see" Nathan laughed.

"Ok" Haley settled back in the leathery recess of the seat. "This car is awesome"

"I know…Dan's money, my car"

"I love that logic" Haley laughed. Her laugh made Nathan's stomach turn. It was more like a tinkle and he loved the way she laughed.

"Yeah" Nathan turned onto the parking lot for the beach.

"Nathan…"

"Come on" Nathan opened the car door for her and led her down the boardwalk to the beach, where a picnic was laid out.

"Oh my gosh"

"I hope you're ok with getting your dress all sandy" Nathan said, referring to the flowing blue sundress Haley had on.

"Oh, its fine" Haley said. "I don't care"

"That's good" Nathan motioned for her to sit down on the blanket. Haley sat down slowly, still awed by the romantic factor of this dinner. Was Nathan trying to say something?

* * *

"SHE SLEPT WITH DAN SCOTT!" Brooke shrieked. 

"Apparently so"

"But she told you it was a random guy at a bar"

"Dan's sick, he can be a random guy at a bar"

"Oh no, no, no not good" Brooke said, pacing up and down her living room. "This changes everything"

"I know"

"What are we gonna do?"

"I don't know!" Lucas said. "I'm in a bit of a panic mode- this kid is going to be my brother or sister, basically"

"That would make Rachel your step mom in a twisted sort of way"

"Ok ew" Lucas shuddered. "Dan is such a sick, sick man"

"No joke" Brooke said. "Ok…umm…does Rachel know?"

"No"

"How do you know?"

"I have my sources"

"Ok I wont ask…you're positive its Dan's?"

"100 percenttotally sure"

"Ok…well first we have to tell Rachel" Brooke said. "And as much as it pains me to do this, I'm gonna have to call her over here"

"Oh god…please don't like bitch her out, Brooke" Lucas said.

"I won't! Jeez"

"Ok, ok I believe you" Lucas laughed. He was glad he came to Brooke, she knew what to do in times like these…and also he basically just wanted to see her.

"Hello- Rachel? It's Brooke"

"What do you want now, Brooke? You know you won"

"Can you please just come over here?" Brooke asked. "I need to talk to you"

"If this is some elaborate plan to humiliate me, than please just tell me now what you wanna tell me and spare me the gas money" Rachel said.

"Its not…here, talk to Lucas"

"Rachel…just come here" Lucas said. "Please"

"Ok,fine I'll be there 10" Rachel said.

"She thinks I'm gonna give her a bitching" Brooke laughed. "That makes me happy"

"Brooke!"

"Sorry…"

_Meanwhile…_

"This is great, Nathan" Haley said. "And such a perfect spot…the stars look so pretty tonight"

"Yeah" Nathan looked into her eyes and saw the reflection of the very stars Haley was talking about. "I appreciate how much you dressed up, I feel like a thug compared to you"

"Well…I always liked thugs" Haley laughed. Nathan chuckled and poured some more coke into his glass.

"I wanna say why I really invited you here tonight" Nathan said.

"Oh" Haley sighed. She wasn't looking forward to this.

"I love you, Haley…a lot. And I wish everything would be perfect and we could be together forever and all that cheesy stuff that we all dream about- but that's not gonna happen. However, we have a year to work things out before the divorce is totally finalized. I really, really wish we could talk things out and I hope we can be together again, because the more I think about losing you, the more I can't imagine it"

"Nathan…"

"So are you willing to work things out?"

"Of course I am!" Haley said. "That's exactly what I wanted to hear tonight- I'll do everything and anything to earn back your trust"

"Um…I talked to my mom and she suggested marriage counseling"

"From like a priest?"

"No, since neither of us is particularly religious, just a normal one"

"Ok" Haley said. "I'm willing to do that"

"But the biggest part is our own will to wanna work things out" Nathan said.

"Oh I have will" Haley said, looking up at the stars and then back at Nathan. "I have plenty of will"

* * *

"So why am I here?" Rachel asked, looking back from Brooke to Lucas. 

"We wanted to tell you who the father of the baby is"

"How did you find this out?"

"Long story"

"Who is it?" Rachel asked.

"Dan Scott"

"DAN SCOTT!"

"Yep"

"You're sure?"

"Positive"

"How do you not remember sleeping with him?" Brooke asked. She may have suddenly turned into Glenda the good witch but she WAS gonna take a teeny tiny stab at Rachel's idiocy.

"I was sorta…wasted?" Rachel said.

"Ok well he's the father…good thing you know because that'll be a hell of a time you're gonna have…and he's not gonna be in this baby's life" Lucas said.

"So what are you planning to do?" Brooke asked.

"Well I went and checked with Planned Parenthood and I'm definitelypregnant…about 2 months um and I'm planning to keep it" Rachel said.

"Well you realize you can't drink when you're pregnant?" Brooke said. "And you need to straighten up and pull yourself together because you've got a hell of a ride made out for you" Brooke snapped.

"Yes, mother"

"I'm serious, Rachel! This is no laughing matter- you can't provide a shitty life for a baby, ok? They require attention and love, and you have to be prepared to give it!" Brooke said. "I never wanna see parents like mine bestowed upon any unfortunate child every again!"

"She's right, Rachel…you have a lot of thinking to do" Lucas said. Rachel's eyes filled up with tears.

"I'm scared" Rachel said, the tears spilling over. "Really, really scared"

"Rachel…" Brooke found herself hugging the last person she thought she would ever hug.

"What am I going to do?"

**A/N: TWIST! Betcha didn't see that one coming! Review :0) **


	8. 8th World Wonder

"I feel so bad for her but then again I don't" Brooke said. She was sitting on the couch with Lucas, 20 minutes after they had bid a shook up Rachel goodbye.

"I feel bad for her, but she shouldn't be having sex with random 40 year old men and then not remembering it- that's trashy" Lucas said. "Dan, of all people!"

"I know…bad luck" Brooke sighed, biting her lip anxiously. "I guess all that crap about 'your pregnancy will affect more than just you' was true…look how it's effecting me!"

"Yeah…I don't even KNOW what her parents are gonna say" Lucas said.

"She doesn't talk at all about them" Brooke said. "It worries me that I care this much"

"Well a baby is a baby, right?" Lucas asked. "It'll effect everyone she's connected with"

"Lucas you've made me so…nice" Brooke shuddered. "The old me would've laughed and spread a rumor"

"Nah, I don't think so" Lucas said. "You've always had a heart of pure gold…it just takes time to show"

"You think?"

"I know"

* * *

"My first session of marriage counseling is today" Haley whined to Brooke the next morning.

"After school, honey, not now…you're gonna be late" Brooke said, grabbing Haley's arm and yanking her out of bed.

"Wasn't it a mere few months ago I was yanking you out of bed…Lucas's bed, might I add?" Haley teased.

"Shh tutor girl…no heavy talk this early" Brooke said, patting her head like a dog.

"Brooke Davis you are a character" Haley laughed, padding to the bathroom.

_Meanwhile at the Rivercourt…_

"So my first session with Haley is today" Nathan said.

"Oh" Lucas nodded. "Sounds fun"

"Are you kidding man? Its gonna be hell, and she's gonna cry and we're both gonna yell and I'm NOT looking forward to it"

"Weren't you the one who suggested it, Nate?" Lucas said a little shortly.

"Yeah…if that's what it takes to reconcile our marriage, then I'll do just that" Nathan said, making a shot.

"Treat Haley right, Nathan" Lucas said. "I don't want her to come back from it damaged and heartbroken"

"Since when are you her protector?" Nathan snapped.

"Since always" Lucas snapped back.

* * *

"8:15…Ms. Davis, you're 5 minutes late" her science teacher reprimanded.

"I had a meeting with the principal" Brooke said.

"About?" he inquired.

"Our new water fountains" Brooke said, appealing to the teacher's good side. "I told him how you said they were scientifically unhealthy and I suggested they be changed"

"Wonderful!" her science teacher shrieked.

"Yeah" Brooke rolled her eyes at her classmates. They all knew their teacher was a nutcase. Brooke took a seat and opened her chemistry book.

"What exactly were you doing?" Lucas whispered to Brooke.

"I talked to him about Rachel"

"What'd he say?"

"She's…kicked out" Brooke whispered.

"What? Why?"

"Apparently, she asked him to kick her out"

* * *

"Ok, its 4:00, I'm gonna go to counseling with Nathan" Haley said. "Wish me luck"

"Good luck" Brooke said. "You look hot"

"Thanks" Haley laughed. "Bye!"

"Bye" Brooke said. Her cell phone vibrated and she grabbed it up off the floor. "Hey Lucas!"

"Hey…you busy?" Lucas asked.

"Trig"

"Ugh…I was wondering if you wanted to come over?" he asked.

"How about you come over here?"

"Ok…I'll be there in 15?"

"Yeah that works" Brooke smiled. "See you"

"Bye" Lucas hung up. He wanted to jump for joy- alone time with Brooke! Without anyone there. He quickly made sure he looked and smelled ok and then got into his car. He was reeling with excitement…for some reason; the aspect of Brooke inviting HIM seemed that she was beginning to rethink her nonexclusive dating theory.

_Meanwhile…_

Haley hummed to herself as she drove along slowly to the little office to which Nathan had given her directions that morning. She was worried and scared…she knew she was going to cry, and yell, and leave the session depressed and anxious- that was her personality. But if reconciliation of their marriage meant doing what Nathan wanted to do, which was go to counseling, then she would more than willingly do it.

Nathan checked his reflection in the rearview mirror, making sure he looked presentable. Somehow, everywhere Haley went, she managed to look beautiful and perfect. Everywhere he went in comparison to her, he looked like a thug. He chuckled to himself as he remembered Haley's comment. _"Well…I always liked thugs"_ Cute comments like those made Haley so much more attractive to Nathan for some reason. He spotted Haley's silver convertible approaching the little office building. He turned his BMW into the parking spot next to hers and took a deep breath. Him, Haley, a counselor, and all their problems out in the open. It was going to be a long 3 hours.

_Back at the apartment…_

"Lucas…help me with Trig!" Brooke whined.

"Brooke I don't get trig anymore than you do"

"Fine, I'm done" Brooke said, shutting the Math textbook and reaching for her English textbook.

"Since when do you do all your homework?" Lucas teased.

"Since I realized that I can't depend on my parents forever and marrying an old rich man would suck ass" Brooke laughed.

"Well that was a good realization…hard work pays off" Lucas said.

"True that…I have a 4.0 GPA right now" Brooke beamed.

"Wow! That's fantastic, Brooke"

"Thanks" Brooke laughed, pulling her hair out of the bun it was thrown up into. Her hair cascaded down her shoulders and spilled over to the front, making Lucas's heart jump.

"You know what's funny?" Lucas asked, leaning back against the couch.

"What?" Brooke asked, looking over into his baby blue eyes. Those eyes made her knees weak and her mouth dry up.

"You can sit here in pajamas after a long day of school and still look like you stepped off the runway"

"Aw that's so sweet!" Brooke said. "Thank you"

"No problem…and I'm not just sweet talking you, I actually do believe that" Lucas said.

"Really?"

"Really"

_At the counselor's office_

"Hi…my name is Marie" the woman had a sort of soft yet strict aura about her. "I would like to begin with a few words. I always tell my clients that I'm not here to get them back together, to make them fall in love again, or any of that mumbo jumbo. I am a firm believer in love as well as respect…and that's what I work on. Respect. For each other, each other's lives, hearts, and emotions. And if I could make every astray couple fall back in love again and be all happy, I would. But I can't. So I'm here to listen, learn, and advise…I like to begin with an introduction, and I want you to say one good thing about yourself and about your partner…ladies first"

"Um…hi…my name's Haley and I think I'm hardworking…and Nathan is very loyal"

"My name is Nathan, I'm a good basketball player and Haley is very…caring"

"Good, good!" the counselor said. "Now…what's the main issue? I would like the man to go first this time…and please no interruptions"

"Ok…well…me and Haley fell in love and got married pretty young and then she…left…to go on a musical tour, and what I thought, to be with Chris Keller, this other guy that she was working with"

"Ok…"

"And then she returned and wanted everything to be ok…and I just…cant forgive her" Nathan said. He glanced over at Haley, whose eyes threatened to fill up with tears any moment.

"Ok…Haley, your story"

"Well basically what he said…but whenever I was away, my heart was always with him…and he gave me an ultimatum- him, or music…and I was upset and foggy and I chose…the music" Haley sighed. "And I know it was wrong, and I regret it with every beat of my heart, but he just cant find it in him to forgive me" Haley said. Now the tears spilled over and ran down her cheeks. She wiped them away quickly and lifted her eyes to the counselor.

"So obviously there's been some betrayal"

"Obviously" Nathan said.

"But I can see that both of you care for each other very much and that both of you are still very much in love…and its interesting. I never do this. But I sincerely believe you two are at a part of your life where you still have time to erase your mistakes…I'm going to send you two to a room and leave you alone to talk…because I don't think I can do anything- its up to you two now"

Nathan and Haley nodded and followed Marie into a well lit room with two comfortable love seats.

"Have at it" Marie said, shutting the door softly.

_Meanwhile…_

"Done!" Brooke announced, slamming her History book shut.

"Good" Lucas laughed. He'd been sitting there, watching her work intently and bite her lip and whisper softly to herself for a good half hour. He just couldn't get enough of her.

"Lucas stop staring at me do I have something in my teeth?" Brooke asked.

"No…I just-"

"You just what?" Brooke teased.

"You're really pretty"

"Thanks" Brooke shook her head and looked up at him. His heart jumped and his stomach got butterflies. She chuckled uncomfortably and bit her lip.

"Brooke…why are we playing these games?" Lucas asked.

"What games?"

"The beating around the bush games…Brooke…I love you"

_Over at the counselor's…_

"Um…so…yeah" Haley said. They both burst out laughing at Haley's feeble attempt to start a conversation. "So um do you wanna start by saying something…?"

"Haley there's nothing to say…I love you"

**A/N: Hope you liked the chapter! Please review! **


	9. Authors Note, please read!

**Authors Note!**

Hey guys...I know I'm not supposed to do this (bad me!) but I have to lol. I'm going overseas for a month from December 15th to January 10th ish and I wont be updating at all in between (grandparents are rural and dont have computer...annoying, right? They're all about the Italian countryside.)...so I'm gonna work my hardest to get a bunch of chapters in right before I leave so atleast theres something there to read! But please dont forget about me:-( that would be sad lol! I'm gonna try a lot to geta bunch of chapters up in the next 2 weeks but seeing that midterm exams (shudder!) are coming up and my teachers have decided that being inhonors means we like being tortured, I have like 478459789438756495078 projects and tests and papers and stuff...so I'll be slow. But please bare with me and review!

THANKS:-)

-Sarah


	10. Brooke and Lucas

"He told you he loved you?" Haley asked for the third time.

"Yes!" Brooke buried her face in her pillow.

"What did you say?"

"Nothing"

"And then what happened?" Haley pressed.

"He left"

"Brooke!"

"I know, I'm such a basket case" Brooke sighed, looking up from the pillow. "He probably HATES me now!"

"Lucas couldn't hate you…he was probably a little embarrassed himself and a little taken aback that you didn't respond" Haley said. "Its ok"

"I, just-I"

"You love him too?"

"Yeah"

_Over at the Scott residence…_

"You idiot you WALKED OUT?" Nathan asked, shaking his head. "Dude…"

"Well she didn't respond!"

"Lucas…"

"I know it was stupid she probably hates me now" Lucas shook his head.

"Oh please Brooke could never hate you" Nathan laughed. "The girl is like head over heels in love with you" Nathan threw the phone at Lucas. "Call her and ask her to meet you at the Rivercourt. You can talk things out there"

"Dude that is such a good idea" Lucas smiled appreciatively. "How did your session with Haley go?"

"I told her I loved her"

"Oh…well then, it must have gone well"

"I think it did, but I think I might call her over and ask her if we can just talk and figure out if we're ready to be back together or not"

"Yeah…hey, Brooke!" Lucas greeted enthusiastically.

"Hey"

"Can you meet me at the Rivercourt in like 10 minutes? I wanna talk to you"

"Sure…I'll be there"

"Ok see you"

"Bye"

"Good luck man" Nathan pounded fists with Lucas as he walked out the door.

"Good luck Brooke" Haley said, hugging Brooke as she walked out the door.

Lucas was sitting on the bench at the Rivercourt when he saw Brooke's convertible pull up. The wind was blowing softly, and her dark brown hair was blowing gently around her face. She pried a piece of her hair out of her lip gloss as she locked the car and grabbed her purse.

Brooke stole furtive glances at Lucas, who was watching her. His blue eyes seemed brilliant in the blinding late fall-early winter sunlight and her heart skipped a beat as she walked over.

"Hey" Lucas greeted.

"Hey"

"What's up?"

"Nothing much really, you?" Brooke asked.

"Nothing much here"

"Yeah" Brooke said.

"Yeah…look Brooke I know I sprung that on you-"

"Yeah, you did! Just when I thought I'd like to start getting over you, you spring an 'I love you' at me? You cant do that to me, Lucas!" Brooke cried.

"I'm sorry…I'm just telling you the truth- I wanted to stop beating around the bush"

"I'm not the one beating around the bush! I think I made it pretty damn clear that I liked you, but you didn't do anything except for make some spacey comments about me looking beautiful!"

"Brooke…"

"Don't Brooke me, Lucas!" Brooke said. "I'm serious. Do you love me?"

"Yeah" Lucas nodded.

"Do you want to be with me?"

"Of course I do, Brooke…I wanna be with you so bad"

"Then why didn't you ask me out? Or do something?"

"I was going to I just didn't think you liked me back"

"Well, I do" Brooke said.

"I love you Brooke, so much" Lucas said. "I didn't wanna act on it because I didn't want to destroy our friendship"

"Lucas…"

"Brooke I'm sorry…will you go out with me? We can take it slow"

"Um…" Brooke fought to stop a smile from spreading across her face. "Yeah…as long as we take it slow"

"Of course" Lucas held his arms out and hugged Brooke. He had missed holding her in his arms.

_Meanwhile…_

"Aw are they together now?" Haley asked Nathan as she popped French fry into her mouth.

"Yeah that's what Luke told me…he sounded very excited" Nathan laughed.

"Aw that's sweet…I haven't seen Brooke since she left the house to go meet him at the Rivercourt…I wonder what they're doing…hmm" Haley giggled.

"Oh no Lucas told me they weren't doing any of that for a while"

"Please…Brooke and Lucas not-"

"He said Brooke sounded convinced and he was going to do anything to get her to trust him fully"

"Oh" Haley smiled. "Luke's a good guy"

"Yeah, he is" Nathan said.

"So…"

"So…"

"We have never lacked anything to talk about, you realize that?" Haley asked. "We're either laughing or yelling at each other"

"I like it better when we're laughing"

"Yeah, me too"

* * *

"Sweetie we have to get going" Haley said, dragging Brooke out of the bathroom.

"Haley I didn't get to finish my makeup!"

"Cry me a river" Haley said. "Lucas and Nathan are waiting!"

"I can't do that…I'd smudge the little makeup I have on!" Brooke glared at Haley.

"Yeah hurry up Brooke" Peyton whined from the living room. Lucas shook his head. He knew Brooke was going to look beautiful either way.

"I'm coming…jeez" Brooke emerged from the bathroom looking like a goddess…so Lucas thought. Her hair fell in loose curls around her shoulders and she had a gold sweater on with chocolate stripes. Tight fitting jeans that sat just right on her hips enhanced her image. She smiled shyly at Lucas and went to give him a hug.

"Hey you" he said, pulling her into a hug. She made his heart pitter patter and his stomach get butterflies…just touching her did all of that.

"Hey" she smiled up at him. "How are you?"

"Good…you look fantastic"

"Thanks" Brooke smiled. "Are we ready to go?"

"Yup" Nathan led them out to the car. Everyone was going out for dinner at a relatively nice place.

"Nathan can you put the windows down? My hair is getting DESTROYED" Brooke whined.

"Fine, fine" Nathan laughed, rolling the windows up. The cool early November air blew in, making Brooke shiver. Lucas instinctively put his arm around her and was glad he didn't have to withdraw it.

"Thanks" Brooke smiled, leaning her head on his shoulder. Lucas subtly noticed how her head fit perfectly on his shoulder and his arms went around her nicely, making her feel safe but not claustrophobic.

Peyton smiled at Brooke knowingly. She knew how much Brooke was enjoying being with Lucas without getting tied down with all his physical needs. For once, she felt, that Brooke and Lucas were gonna work out. Jake came floating into her mind. She hadn't spoken to him in ages. She preferred not to think about him and Jenny…she missed them both so much and it destroyed her to think Jake may never come back. She switched her mind quickly back to something else.

"So how are everyone's college apps going?" Peyton asked.

"I'm applying to John Hopkins" Haley smiled. "I really wanted to go there, but since I'm behind in school…"

"Oh Hales you'll get in" Nathan assured her. "I'm going to UNC"

"Same" Lucas said, and Brooke and Peyton nodded.

"You guys don't wanna get out of North Carolina?" Haley asked.

"I wanna go to California for graduate school" Brooke said.

"Cool" Lucas said. "I wanna go to…I dunno, NYU I think"

"Oh good choice!" Peyton said. "College is so soon…you guys we may never see each other again after graduation"

"Don't say that!" Brooke said, hitting Peyton's arm. "And let's not talk about college, you're depressing me"

"Yeah, dude, Peyt you're depressing Brooke" Lucas laughed, kissing the top of her head. Brooke pouted and buried her face in Lucas's chest.

"Mwake dem swop twalin fout coffage"

"What?"

"Make them stop talking about college" Brooke mumbled.

"Guys stop talking about college" Lucas said, wrapping his arms tighter around Brooke. "Brooke doesn't like it"

"Aw poor Brooke" Peyton teased. "Worried?"

"Yeah!" Brooke lifted her head off of Lucas's chest. "You aren't?"

"I am…" Haley jumped in. "A lot"

"Me too…I've never been…not in Tree Hill"

"Same here" Haley sighed.

"Let's not talk about it" Brooke said, plastering a smile on and changing the subject. Lucas noticed, however, that the twinkle in her eyes was slightly dampened. He was going to find out what was really bothering her.

* * *

"Pasta, please" Brooke told the waiter.

"And to drink?"

"Water" The waiter proceeded to ask everyone else what they wanted to eat and then left to get their food.

"Can you believe the research paper Hawthorne gave us?" Peyton asked.

"Oh my gosh, I know! I was like what the hell" Haley said. "I still have like a million other things to do…projects, papers, studying…overwhelmed! I hate midterm time"

"Me too" Brooke sighed. "Because now I actually care and feel like I have to study"

"Right, cause before Brooke would just sleep through all of our study sessions" Peyton teased.

"Haha very funny"

"Well you would!" Haley laughed.

"Changing the subject…" Brooke said, sticking her tongue out at Haley and Brooke. "What's everyone doing for winter break?"

"Don't know" Lucas said. "Probably just spending it with my mother"

"Yeah my parents want me to come back out to California with them, but that's not gonna happen" Brooke said.

"Aw yeah we want you with us for Christmas" Haley smiled.

"Yeah!" Brooke laughed. The waiter arrived with the food and they began eating.

The friends' dinner went really well- everyone had a good time, and for once there wasn't any angst and secret flirting- Peyton was most thankful for that.

"Hey you want me to walk you home?" Lucas asked Brooke.

"Yeah that'd be nice"

"Me and Haley will drive home- that ok with you Hales?" Nathan asked.

"Totally"

"What about Peyton?" Brooke asked.

"Oh I have to go the art store and do all sorts of other things, I'll get home myself" Peyton smiled.

"You sure?"

"Yup" Peyton bid them goodbye and left the restaurant. Haley and Nathan did the same and Brooke watched Nathan open the door for Haley.

"Brooke?"

"Yeah" Brooke snapped out of her thoughts.

"You ready?"

"Oh yeah" she laughed. Lucas reached over and grabbed her hand, and they entwined their fingers with each others. It sent shivers down Lucas's back to be touching Brooke again.

The couple exited the building and walked in silence for a few minutes along the Tree Hill sidewalks.

"So…I have a question" Lucas asked Brooke. "It's definitely kind of early for me to ask and you shouldn't feel obligated to say anything"

"You aren't proposing, are you?" Brooke teased.

"No!" Lucas laughed.

"Ok…what is it?" Brooke asked curiously.

"My mom's parents have a cabin in the mountains in New York, and um they offered it to me and my mom for Christmas but my mom has plans with Andy and I asked her if it was ok if I took you there and we stayed there for a couple nights…just a suggestion" Lucas added quickly.

"Oh that sounds like it'd be tons of fun!" Brooke said. "What days?"

"The two days after Christmas"

"Oh that sounds like a blast, definitely" Brooke said.

"Great!" Lucas could barely contain his excitement and Brooke noticed and chuckled to herself.

"But that doesn't mean we're going to…"

"Of course not" Lucas said. "I would never-"

"Its ok, Lucas, I was just making you squirm" Brooke laughed.

"Brooke…"

"I got you Broody!" she giggled and tugged on his coat. "Come on"

"Come on what?"

"Race me home"

"Race you?" Lucas asked flirtatiously. "What do I get if I win?"

"Well" Brooke said standing on her tiptoes and kissing Lucas softly. "More of that"

"How about I carry you home?" Lucas asked, grabbing Brooke and tossing her over his shoulder.

"Lucas!" she shrieked.

"And then" he put her back down and kissed her softly. "You can have more of this"

"I'm all yours" she giggled, and Lucas picked her up and carried her home

**A/N: hope you liked the chapter! I put Brucas in cause I was having withdrawal from not writing about them:0) **


	11. Holiday Season

"Haley…Haley wake UP" Brooke whined, throwing the covers off of Haley. She rolled over and curled up into a ball.

"Brooke…it's Saturday, why do we have to be up so early?"

"Because it's Holiday season!" Brooke giggled.

November had flown by and now it was December in Tree Hill, North Carolina. Brooke and Lucas were still going out, now very close to their one month anniversary. Haley and Nathan weren't together just yet, but tight friends. They were still working on their relationship. Of course, they were both madly in love with each other…they were just stalling.

"I don't care" Haley whined. "I wanna sleep"

"The boys are coming over to help us decorate…including Nathan" Brooke poked Haley.

"He can't see me like this!" Haley shot out of bed. "I'll be in the shower"

"I'll be making hot cocoa" Brooke shook her head. Haley was so self conscious when it came to Nathan and how she looked whenever he was around. She thought it was cute that Haley cared that much. She herself couldn't wait to see Lucas, though. She hadn't seen him in a couple days because he was absorbed in Midterm studying…so was she, of course.

"Hey babe" Lucas came up from behind and kissed Brooke's cheek.

"Lucas!" Brooke laughed and turned around to kiss him. "I didn't see you come in!"

"We snuck in" Nathan laughed. "Where's Haley?"

"I don't know I haven't seen her since last night" Brooke giggled softly to herself. She loved messing with Nathan.

"What!" Nathan said.

"Kidding…she's in the shower…HALEY YOUR HUSBANDS HERE!" Brooke shrieked. She knew perfectly well that it would make both Nathan and Haley extremely uncomfortable to hear "husband", but she figured it was good for them.

"Brooke" Lucas chastised softly. "You know how uncomfortable that makes them" he whispered.

"I don't care" Brooke giggled, her hazel-green eyes twinkling with laughter. "Its fun" Lucas shook his head and kissed her hair.

"What are you making?" Lucas asked.

"Hot cocoa for you guys" Brooke smiled.

"Aw we have a Susie homemaker on our hands" Nathan teased, getting back at Brooke for the husband comment.

"Shut up…my hot cocoa is famous among those have had it, so don't mock or you wont get any" Brooke teased back, lifting the cup for Lucas to take a sip.

"Mm that is good" Lucas said. "Can I have this cup?"

"Oh yeah…made especially for my baby with EXTRA marshmallows" Brooke said, sticking her tongue out at Nathan when she gave him his cup, which had one marshmallow in it.

"You know Brooke you and I fight like brother and sister" Nathan laughed.

"Yeah, you two do" Haley said, padding out to the living room with her wet hair in curls. "If I didn't know any better, I would say you two are related- dark hair, green eyes, spoiled as hell" Nathan and Brooke stuck their tongues out at Haley as she chuckled to herself and got herself a cup of hot cocoa.

"You like?" Brooke asked.

"Yeah, its good…I admit it" Nathan said.

"See!" Brooke giggled. Lucas laughed and pulled her closer to him. She buried her head in his chest just for the heck of it doing it…and because his cologne smelt good.

"So what are we doing today?" Lucas asked.

"We're decorating!" Brooke said. "The Christmas tree and the house and we're putting up lights and all of that fun stuff" she said. Brooke really did love Christmastime- it was the one time there was a slight chance that her parents would come home.

"So basically that means me and Nate are doing the boring stuff like hanging up the lights and you and Hales are decorating the tree?" Lucas asked.

"Yup…wow, you know me well, Scott" Brooke said, kissing him. "And if you do a good job, there's more of that"

"Well then Nate, lets get to it" Lucas said, putting his cup on the side table.

"I'll go get the ornaments!" Brooke said, running to the room to get them. "I love this season so much" she said, coming back out with two full boxes of ornaments.

"Lets start" Haley said, digging through the boxes to find the first ornament. She always put the reindeers on first when she was little and Brooke always put the snowmen on first.

"I'll go first with the snowmen" Brooke said, hanging her favorite one on the tree. "This marks the beginning of Christmas for me!" Brooke said. Lucas couldn't help but stare at her the entire time. It was something about the weather, something about the season, something about the fires and the snow and the hot chocolate and the ornaments and the trees and the lights that seemed to change Brooke completely.

_Meanwhile…_

Peyton drove along slowly to Brooke's house. She was going to help decorate the Christmas tree. A smile spread across her face when she remembered how much Brooke loved Christmas. Her cell phone rang, jolting her out of her thoughts.

"Hello?"

"Peyton…hi"

"Jake!"

"Hey…how are you?"

"Good, how are you? Where are you?"

"I'm on my way to Tree Hill"

"Do you have Jenny?"

"Yeah"

"Where's Nikki?"

"In jail" Peyton could hear the smile in his voice.

"That's great, Jake!" Peyton said. "Please come to Nathan and Haley's old apartment when you get here if you get here today"

"I won't be in Tree Hill by today, probably by tomorrow night"

"Ok well give me a call when you get here, ok?"

"Of course…hey Peyt?"

"Yeah?"

"I love you"

"I love you too, Jake"

* * *

"So did you enjoy your dinner?" Nathan asked Haley as they left the restaurant.

"Yeah it was really good" Haley smiled. "I loved it"

"Good" Nathan smiled, opening the door for Haley. "Do you wanna go home now or what?"

"Um sure" Haley said, getting into the BMW. "That'd be fine" he could sense the disappointment in her voice as he watched her. He couldn't take his eyes off of her- she looked so beautiful.

"Look, Haley"

"Hmm?" she looked up.

"When I was hanging up the lights this morning I realized that I wanna spend every holiday season and Christmas with you, and I knew then that if I didn't say this that you might slip away and never come back" Nathan took her hand in his and kissed her softly, something he hadn't done in months. "Haley James Scott, I love you…will you please do me the honor of being my wife-again?"

"Nathan…I don't know what to say"

"Please say yes"

"Oh who am I kidding…of course! But we still have work on our relationship and trust issues"

"Definitely" Nathan said, kissing her again. "I've been wanting to do that for so long"

"Oh…me too"

**A/N: I know, I know-it's a short chapter…and not much happened but I'm trying to get chapters up so that you guys will have a bunch of stuff to read before I leave for three weeks! Lol. Hope you like the romance in this chapter, I decided to opt for the more cheesy fluffy storyline this chapter just cause holiday season gives you a warm tingly feeling and what the heck you cant make people mad at each other during holiday season. Lol ok my rant is over, please review:-D **


	12. Christmas!

"It's Christmas!" Brooke yelled, padding to the living room where the Christmas tree was lighted.

"It's also 5:00 in the morning so shush" Haley groaned, rolling over in her bed.

"But it's Christmas!" Brooke shrieked. "I- Lucas!" she greeted her boyfriend who walked through the apartment door that minute.

"Hey babe" Lucas walked in. He looked beat, but he was up and had come to the apartment because he knew Brooke would love it if he was there. Nathan stumbled in after him, rubbing his eyes and blinking at the bright Christmas lights.

"Hi…Merry Christmas!"

"Merry Christmas" Lucas said, kissing her softly and pulling her into his arms. He was cold and she was warm and…well, he just wanted to hold her.

"Merry Christmas Brooke" Nathan mumbled sleepily, collapsing on the couch and dropping off.

"Nuh uh! You can't do that!" Brooke shrieked. "We have to have hot chocolate and then open presents one by one"

"Brooke…" Haley padded into the living room. "Nathan…Lucas- hi!"

"Hey" Lucas greeted his best friend. Nathan got up and hugged his wife. They were having a vow renewal in a couple of months, in the meanwhile they were hashing through everything together.

"I'll make the hot chocolate" Brooke said. The late sleeper Brooke Davis seemed to wide awake and happy.

"I'll sleep" Nathan said.

"I'll join" Haley yawned. Nathan pulled her onto his lap and wrapped his arms tightly around her. Haley snuggled up closer to him and put her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes. Somewhere in their mind, they both appreciated that they could do this again, after a while of being apart.

"Ok lovebirds here's the hot chocolate" Brooke said, handing it to Nathan and Haley.

Haley yawned and took a sip of her hot chocolate and looked expectantly at Brooke.

"So…I have a game!" Brooke giggled.

"Oh no"

"Lucas!"

"I mean oh yes"

"Better" Brooke giggled. Lucas kissed her forehead affectionately and pulled her closer.

"At the beginning of Christmas season, I told you all to write a wish- do you remember that?" she asked.

"Yeah" they all nodded.

"I saved those wishes…and I never read them. And when I was little my nanny told me to write a wish and at the end of Christmas day it would come true- if I deserved it…and stupid as it sounds, to this day I do it"

"Ok"

"And so now I'm going to read your wishes"

"Oh no" Haley sighed. She couldn't remember what she had written but it was most definitely about Nathan.

"Haley…'This Christmas season, I wish that Nathan would find it in his heart to forgive me, and I wish that we could be friends again'" Brooke closed the piece of paper and looked up at her. "So…"

"Guess it came true" Haley smiled.

"Nathan…'This Christmas season, I wish that Haley and I could be friends again and then eventually renew our vows"

"Wow! That really came true" Lucas commented.

"Lucas…"

"Great"

"'This Christmas season, I wish that I could tell Brooke I loved her and ask her out'…aw, Luke!" Brooke said.

"Well…" Lucas shrugged. "Its true…I love you"

"Love you too" Brooke smiled, her heart beating faster.

"As for me…'This Christmas season, I wish that the ache in my heart for Lucas would go away" Brooke closed the slip quietly and looked at Lucas, who just sort of looked at Brooke.

"And lets read Peyton's" Brooke said, trying to change the subject. "This Christmas season, I wish that my screwed up upside down life would be back in order"

"Does she really feel like that?" Haley asked.

"Yeah" Brooke looked sadly down at the paper. "At least Jake's trip wasn't delayed by more than a week"

"Yeah, or she would've had a cow" Haley said.

"I know" Brooke said. "It makes me sad thought that she feels alone and helpless…I wish we could help"

"Hi!" Peyton walked in. "What's up?"

"Peyt- hi!" Brooke jumped up to greet her best friend. "What's up?"

"Well, its Christmas and I knew you would want me here at the crack of dawn" Peyton laughed. "Ever since we were 10 years old"

"Yup" Brooke handed Peyton a mug of hot chocolate.

"Oh, and I brought someone" Peyton ushered someone in…and that someone was Jake.

"JAKE!" Brooke threw herself on him. "Omg, hi! How's Jenny?"

"She's good…ask her yourself" Jake pointed to Jenny, who toddled in. She was barely 11 months, and already knew how to walk. She couldn't talk, though.

"Aw…hi Jenny!" Brooke said, kneeling down to hug the little girl. "I haven't seen you in a while!" Jenny giggled and tugged on Jake's pants, and he picked her up and kissed.

"Jake…dude…long time no see" Lucas said, bumping fists with him. "And Jenny…hi"

"Hey" Nathan said as he went up to Jake. "Came back just in time, huh?"

"Yeah…I'm back for good, for sure"

"Yay!" Brooke said. "Have some hot chocolate…what does Jenny like?"

"Her milk" Jake laughed, pointing to the little girl who was drinking out of the bottle quietly in Jake's arms.

"No hot chocolate?" Brooke asked.

"Brooke, babies can't have hot chocolate" Peyton laughed. She looked happier and brighter just because Jake was in her presence.

"Fine then…can I hold her?" Brooke asked.

"Of course" Jake laughed, handing Jenny to her, who scrunched up her face like she was going to cry and then decided that she liked Brooke and cooed.

"Aw she likes me!" Brooke giggled.

"Yeah, she does" Jake smiled. Lucas laughed and shook his head. He thought it was cute that Brooke got so excited that Jenny liked her.

"What, Lucas? Little children don't normally like me" Brooke pouted. "But this one does" Brooke kissed the top of Jenny's head.

"She does" Lucas said. "And I like you too…does that mean I get a kiss?" he asked.

"Oh yes" Brooke kissed Lucas softly. Jenny giggled and then squirmed to get down. "Hey Jenny!" she said. The little girl looked up and giggled at Brooke. "You wanna play a game?" she asked the baby. Jenny didn't really answer but sort of moved towards Brooke. "I'm gonna take that as a yes" Brooke said, grabbing the little girl and twirling her around.

Lucas watched Brooke as she played with Jenny. Brooke was good with kids; he didn't know what she was talking about. He smiled to himself when he remembered Brooke's statement. _When I have kids, Luke, I'm gonna make them all a mini me and my husbands gonna be very annoyed with my 3 girls walking around in tutus._

"Ok, come on, lets open presents" Brooke giggled, sitting down with Jenny in her lap. Jenny had taken quite a liking to Brooke and now was even reluctant to go to her father.

Everyone assumed their position around the tree. Brooke reached for the first present.

"Lucas…from…me" Brooke handed it to him. "Hope you like it"

Lucas opened the present and a huge smile spread across his face. It was the picture Brooke had taken on her phone of them kissing. They both looked insanely in love. He smiled and reached over to kiss her.

"Thanks babe…I love it"

Squeals were heard everywhere as everyone saw and opened their presents. Temporarily, everyone's problems seemed to be in the past. Nikki was forgotten, so was Rachel, and Brooke and Lucas, Haley and Nathan, and Peyton and Jake could assume their normal roles of being madly in love and being able to be with each other for yet another beautiful Tree Hill Christmas.

**A/N: Yay! Hope you liked the chapter…midterms are in like 4 days, so I wont be updating so I'll try to update a lot this weekend…I'll leave an authors note if I cant squeeze another chapter in before I go to Italia! Review please! Thanks! **


	13. I'll Never Let Go

"Ok, don't forget your fur coat, Brooke" Peyton said, throwing the coat at Brooke.

"I think I'm gonna wear that on the way up" Brooke said. She and Lucas were getting ready to leave for their trip to the Catskill Mountains in New York the next morning. She couldn't wait to go and spend some time with Lucas.

"Oh good idea, it'll be like below zero up there" Peyton said. "Are you planning on going swimming, Brooke?"

"No…" Brooke said with a confused tone.

"Then WHY are you packing your 70 million itty bitty bikinis?" Peyton sighed. Brooke was so stubborn when it came to packing.

"Oh…well THOSE are for the hot tubs" Brooke winked.

"Oh…are you and Lucas planning to…"

"NO, no, no…we started our relationship on a non-physical basis" Brooke said. "And I intend to keep it that way"

"I can't believe you've been going out for almost two months and haven't had sex"

"Haven't even come close" Brooke looked up from her packing.

"So this time it's for real?"

"It's for real" Brooke said.

_Over at Lucas's…_

"Mom, I need the cabin keys!" Lucas yelled.

"Ok, hey Luke can we talk?" Karen asked. Lucas nodded and heaved an internal sigh. Here came the lecture.

"Sit"

"Ok" Lucas sat down.

"I know how much you love Brooke, Lucas" Karen said. "I really do. And I know how much she loves you, and I know you guys are in a good, non physical relationship right now, and that's why I gave you permission to go up to the cabin. And you know I can't stop you from doing anything, but all I can say is please, PLEASE be careful, Luke. I don't want to see two heartbroken teenagers"

"Ok, mom" Lucas said. "I promise I'll be very careful, and we're not going and intending to do anything anyway…it's to work on our relationship and enjoy winter"

"Ok" Karen hugged Lucas. "Have a fun trip, ok babe? You can always call me if anything goes wrong, and grandma and grandpa are up there somewhere as well"

"Ok…bye mom" Lucas said. He was staying at Brooke's that night so they could get everything ready together.

"Bye sweetheart" Karen kissed Lucas and hugged him tightly. "I love you"

"Love you too, mom" Lucas smiled and hauled his suitcase out to the car.

* * *

"Brooke, sweetheart…get up" Lucas whispered in her ear. "Its time for us to leave"

"Oh" Brooke groaned. "I'll be up" Brooke rolled over.

"No, no time for rolling over and going back to bed"

"Fine" Brooke grumbled and got back up. Lucas kissed her good morning, making her giggle. "Carry me to the bathroom?"

"And then I'll toss you in the shower" Lucas laughed.

"No! No water…just bed…dry bed" Brooke said.

"Not a morning person, I see" Lucas chuckled.

"Oh Lucas we've spent enough nights together for you to know that" Brooke chuckled.

"Well…that's true" Lucas said. "Ok, come on move it I don't wanna be late for our flight"

30 minutes later, they were both dressed and ready to go. After bidding Haley, Nathan, Peyton, Jake, and Jenny a tearful goodbye (only from Brooke, of course, Lucas refused to show emotion) they drove to the airport.

"So are you excited?" Lucas asked her as they sat in the airport waiting area.

"So excited! Thanks for taking me, Luke" Brooke smiled.

"No problem" Lucas said, kissing her and entwining his hand with hers. "I'm thrilled that you agreed to accompany me…I love you"

"Love you too" Brooke said, leaning her head on his shoulder and yawning. It was still too early in the morning for her to be up.

"Did you get all the winter clothes you needed?"

"Yup" Brooke said. "I got this adorable pink jacket"

"Another one?" Lucas asked. "You have so many pink jackets"

"This one is pink, the other two are light pink and hot pink"

"Brooke…"

"Don't make fun of me!"

"I'm not…I'm sure you look beautiful in all 3 of your pink jackets" he laughed, pulling her closer to him and wrapping his arms tightly around her.

"I do. I look hot and you're gonna love it" Brooke winked.

"Ah…well in that case I love your pink jackets"

"Good. You better" Brooke giggled.

"Flight 207 for LaGuardia Airport boarding now"

"That us" Lucas said, helping Brooke up. "New York time!"

* * *

"I hope Brooke and Lucas are having a good time" Haley said. She was sitting with Nathan in his house, watching some basketball game.

"They're Brooke and Lucas, of course they're going to have a good time" Nathan laughed, diverting his attention from the game to Haley.

"That's true" Haley laughed. Nathan noticed how her eyes sparkled every time she smiled.

"You're so pretty" he said, pulling her closer to him. "I love you, you know that, right?"

"Of course I do"

"But there's something I have to tell you" Nathan said quietly.

"What?" Haley said.

"Dan's trying to stop our vow renewal"

"How can he do that?"

"Well I don't know but evidently he's trying to stop it"

"I cant believe it"

"I cant believe HIM. My mother told me and she said that he's going to do SOMETHING to stop it, legal or not" Nathan sighed.

"He'll try to bribe you" Haley said.

"Oh he definitely will" Nathan agreed. "So I have a plan"

"Oh no…" Haley chuckled. "Your plans always go awry"

"Hey! No they don't" Nathan pouted.

"I'm sorry baby what's your plan?" Haley giggled, kissing him softly.

"Well, since you don't think its gonna work…" Nathan teased.

"Nathan!"

"Ok, ok…we pretend we're fighting" Nathan said. "And make him believe we've called off the renewal. And then we go through with it anyway, and we let him catch wind of it a few hours before. And then he'll stomp in and try to wreck something. And since we're legally separated, he can be charged with interference of a legal ceremony"

"Well it sounds good, but what does it constitute?"

"A couple of public fights between us and no talking between now and then"

"Nathan…I don't think I can handle being away from you" Haley sighed, her lower lip trembling. "I mean we're in such a good place right now and being apart is just gonna screw that up…"

"Haley I love you and you cant ever forget that, and its gonna kill me to be apart for the next couple of weeks, but we have to do what we have to do" Nathan said. The tears were running down Haley's face now. "Haley…" Nathan pulled her into his arms and kissed her softly.

"Nathan…I cant do this anymore" Haley wriggled loose from his grip and got up. "I'll see you later"

"Haley…Haley!" Nathan called after her.

* * *

"Oh…Lucas…it's beautiful" Brooke breathed. "The cabin is gorgeous…not much of a cabin as a mansion, huh?"

"Compared to the houses in this area, it's definitely a cabin" Lucas laughed. "Come on" he grabbed her hand and led her in. "You like it?"

"I love it Lucas…thank you" Brooke said, kissing him. "I feel so special!"

"You are special…I'll make us some hot chocolate" he said.

After drinking hot chocolate and settling in, Brooke and Lucas began unpacking.

"Brooke you brought 4 bathing suits?" Lucas asked, watching her toss all of them into an open drawer.

"Yeah!"

"I sincerely hope you're not planning on going swimming"

"No, it's for the hot tub" Brooke winked.

"Ooh, I see" Lucas laughed, kissing her. "Is the hot tub going to see a lot of action?" he asked.

"Well…it might" Brooke winked, turning around to hang up her clothes. Lucas shook his head- Brooke Davis drove him crazy.

"Come on can we be done packing? I wanna show you around" Lucas said, coming up behind Brooke and kissing her neck.

"Show me around as in show me the bed?" Brooke giggled, looking up at him and kissing him.

"NO! I wanna show you the beautiful Catskill Mountains" Lucas said.

"Ok…is it gonna be cold outside?" Brooke asked.

"Freezing"

"Will you hold me to keep me warm?"

"Of course I will…and I'll never let go" Lucas said, pulling Brooke closer to him.

**A/N: Hope you liked the chapter! Review! I think the next chapter is gonna be the last one until I return from Italy unless I can squeeze another one in, but I don't think so…oh and yeah a lil note...I know my chapters have been sorta Brooke and Lucas concentrated but they're like my weakness so I HAVE to write about them but dont worry I'll pick up on the Nathan and Haley...I sort of like them all angsty and not yet reconciled fully but dont worry Naley fluffiness in the near future! Did everyone seethe December 7th episode? IT ROCKED! lol ok well REVIEW!**


	14. Somewhere In Between

"Brooke, baby, just stand up" Lucas pleaded.

"No!" Brooke whined, hitting the snow like a three year old. "I'm gonna look dumb again"

"No, you wont…you look very graceful" Lucas promised.

"And you're a good liar" Brooke smirked.

"Please? For me?" Lucas pleaded.

"Lucas don't use those puppy dog eyes on me!" Brooke said, smacking his leg. "I'm the master of the puppy dog eyes, not you!"

"I'm pretty good" he said, kissing her hair softly. "Please?"

"FINE" Brooke said. "Help me up" Lucas pulled Brooke up but she stood up, her legs skidded, and she promptly fell back down on the snow again. Lucas clamped his heavy glove over his mouth to stop himself from laughing.

"SEE! You're laughing at me!" Brooke crossed her arms and huffed loudly at Lucas.

"I'm not laughing at you" Lucas said, choking back tears of laughter. His throat hurt from contained laughter. The way Brooke's legs had gone skidding and the sound of her heavy jacket thumping on the snow was too much for him. He sat down and started rocking back and forth with laughter.

"Yes, you are. Stop! Stop…Lucas" Brooke whined. She was sick of skiing…she hated it.

"Aw I'm sorry baby" Lucas laughed, pulling her closer to him and kissing her. "At least you tried…I can't even get Haley to try!"

"She's smart, that girl" Brooke huffed.

"You're smarter" Lucas said, in an attempt to gain back brownie points. Brooke, unfortunately, caught right on.

"Oh Lucas just because you said that doesn't make it all better" she teased with a twinkle in her eyes.

"See! Your eyes are twinkling…it means you're having fun" Lucas said.

"No, I'm not. Can we go back to the cabin, please?"

"Already? We've only been out here for 2 hours"

"ONLY? I'm going to freeze. I want to sit in the hot tub"

"Ok, whatever you want babe" Lucas said, helping her take off her skis. "Did you have fun?" he asked in a half sincere half teasing tone.

"LUCAS SCOTT!" Brooke shrieked.

"Sorry…" Lucas said, putting his arm around her and pulling her closer to him. Brooke pouted and Lucas kissed her on her cheek, savoring the smell of her shampoo. "You smell good even after two hours of being bundled up in rental clothes"

"I know…one of my many talents" Brooke giggled. Lucas's heart jumped at her giggle. He had no idea why…he had heard her giggle so many times before.

"Yes…many, many talents"

"That don't include skiing" she pouted.

"You'll get good at it someday, I promise!" Lucas said.

"Nah…I don't think snow is my kind of thing…too many clothes…I like the beach and my bikinis"

"So do I"

"Lucas!" Brooke laughed.

"Well, I do- do you want me to lie?" Lucas teased.

"You're pretty good at it…Peyton ring a bell?" Brooke teased back.

"Ooh, burn" Lucas said sarcastically.

"3rd degree" Brooke giggled.

"That made no sense"

"No, like a 3rd degree burn!"

"Shh…don't incriminate yourself"

"No big words, Lucas!"

"Don't make yourself sound stupid" he laughed.

"Lucas Eugene Scott!"

"Middle name" he winced.

"I get to use it when I'm mad" Brooke pouted.

"Aw, why are you mad?"

"Because you're making fun of me"

"Lovingly"

"Lovingly my ass…"

"Fine…I have a suggestion"

"Hmm?"

"First one inside the house gets to choose whether we have jets or bubbles in the Jacuzzi" Lucas said.

"Fine!" Brooke said. "Bring it...ready? Set…go!" Brooke yelled, sticking out her leg to trip Lucas and racing ahead.

* * *

"Haley just like left and she won't pick up her phone and she won't talk to me and I don't know what I did!" Nathan said to Jake after telling him the whole Dan story.

"Um, Nate, it was probably the whole Dan thing and the scheme"

"But I wasn't like insulting, was I? I'm just trying to save our relationship, dude"

"Go talk to her…knock on her door"

"I don't want her to throw me out"

"Nate…" Peyton insisted, playing with Jenny's toes. "Go"

"Fine…you guys chill here, ok?"

"Ok"

Nathan drove quickly to Haley and Brooke's apartment and knocked feverishly on the door. Haley opened the door and almost shut it when she saw him, but Nathan stopped it.

"Haley, just let me talk"

"What's there to say?" Haley snapped. "Another plan"

"I don't get why you're so upset"

"You don't get why I'm upset?" Haley asked.

"No, I don't"

"Because Nathan we were in such a good place and you had to go ruin it all. Screw Dan! Let him interrupt our renewal! What your plan said to me was that you were willing to even for a second risk our cherished relationship to outwit your father in a cat and mouse game! What if the time we spent apart had a significant impact on our relationship? I won't risk that!"

"Haley, I was just trying to save our marriage"

"Well that goals gone, Nathan, because I"

"I love you, Haley"

"I love you too Nathan, but I'm not ready"

"Ready for what? Haley we know each other inside out, there's no surprises in our future"

"I'm scared, Nathan, ok?" Haley said in a low voice, tears spilling over and running in twisting trails down her face. "Scared that now that I have you back I'll do something stupid and lose you again…scared that my life- which is you- will be snatched away from me if I become too close to it…I'm scared, Nathan, that you don't love me like I love you"

"Haley, I love you more than you'll ever know" Nathan said, hugging his sobbing wife close and kissing the top of her head softly. "And that will never change"

* * *

"Fine, you won and we got to use the jets" Lucas said, climbing out of the hot tub.

"Yup!" Brooke giggled, shivering. Lucas instinctively put his arm around her and pulled her closer to him. Her wet hair clung to his chest and made him shudder with her touch. They still hadn't done anything more than kiss, and he had a feeling Brooke intended on keeping it that way. And if that's what she wanted, then that's what he was going to do.

After they both took a shower, Brooke and Lucas sat in front of the fireplace laughing and talking. The topic of discussion was cold weather.

"70 degrees is not cold" Lucas argued.

"YES, it is"

"No…"

"Uh huh" Brooke giggled, her eyes twinkling.

"Ok because you're so pretty I'll have to agree with you" Lucas said.

"See, it has its advantages" Brooke murmured sleepily, laying her head in Lucas's lap. She was drifting off into sleep, exhausted from the day's events. Lucas stroked her soft brown hair until her breathing was even and he knew she was asleep.

The huge grandfather clock struck midnight, ticking softly and Lucas stared into the flames of the fire. The flames licked back and forth and danced around. He looked down at Brooke, asleep in his lap. Her chest was rising and falling with every breath, and her eyelashes fluttered gently. Somewhere in between their silly fights, serious talks, petty arguments, long periods of wanting each other, and fun times, Lucas Scott had fallen madly in love.

**A/N: Ok last chapter until somewhere around January 10th-15th! I know it sucks and I'm sorry! Please review a LOT! I'm jetting off to Italia in 2 days! Woot! lol I will miss writing but until then, I hope everyone has a _TERRIFIC_ Christmas/Hannukah whatever lolwith lots of presents (hehe) and a Happy New Year with lots of partyingand a good holiday season...REVIEW!**


	15. Stupid Holidays Arent So Stupid

"What a stupid holiday" Haley sighed to Peyton. "Valentines Day…it's such a stupid day"

"Why?" Peyton asked, laughing. She was feeding Jenny, who was dressed in pink and red to celebrate the holiday.

"Because it's never romantic _enough_, if you know what I mean" Haley said. "Its either your guy goes ALL OUT and goes overboard and you're like what the hell, or he doesn't do enough and you live in depression for a week or so…there's such a fine line on how to celebrate this stupid holiday"

"Well…" Peyton laughed. In all honesty, she didn't like Valentines Day much either. It was always the other girls that got the perfect holiday, but it's not like Jake NEEDED a day to tell her he loved her.

"Hales I'm sure Nathan will do something for you" Peyton said, patting Haley's knee. "I know that's what's REALLY bothering you"

"No its not" Haley said quickly.

"Yes, it is sweetie" Peyton laughed. "Its ok…I promise he'll do something"

"Not after my kiss off"

"It wasn't a KISS OFF, Hales, it was more of a…we need a break to rethink stuff before we jump back in"

"It was a kiss off" Haley sighed.

"Did you mean for it to be a kiss off?"

"No!"

"Then maybe you should let him know about that" Peyton said softy. "Haley if you won't talk to him, then you guys won't get anywhere"

"Mm" Haley made a disgruntled noise and fished around the Hershey's Kiss bag for more chocolates. "Yeah I don't think me and Nathan are gonna work out" Haley sighed.

"Haley you two are made for each other…what are you so afraid of?"

* * *

Brooke rolled over in her bed and glanced at the clock. 9:00 am on a Saturday and she was awake. She didn't understand the logic to that. But then she remembered…it was Valentines Day.

Brooke rolled out of bed and padded to the kitchen. She didn't know what she was doing today…Lucas hadn't said much about it, and they had made vague plans with Haley, Nathan, Peyton, and Jake. Brooke was sort of disappointed, but she kept it well hidden and plastered her deceiving 300-watt smile on her face. _There goes my Valentines Day_ she had thought to herself. _I thought Lucas was romantic?_

Lucas Scott crept stealthily up Brooke's stairs, looking around. Haley's car was gone- she was probably at Peyton and Jake's or Nathan's. _Phew_ Lucas breathed a sigh of relief. He didn't wanna get caught. He climbed softly, pausing every so often to make sure no one was watching.

"Oi, you!" someone yelled. Lucas nearly tripped and sent the flowers and chocolates flying.

"What?" Lucas whispered, motioning for him to lower his voice.

"What are you doing?" the guy whispered back. He caught sight of the flowers and then nodded knowingly. He had an officer's patch on and motioned for him to continue up the stairs.

Lucas placed the flowers and chocolates on the front door, along with a note card that instructed Brooke to come to his house that night at 8:00. He rang the doorbell and sprinted down the stairs and out of sight.

* * *

"Hello?" Haley snapped into her cell phone. She was in the middle of lunch and she wasn't happy that she was being interrupted.

"Hey" Nathan's deep voice came over the cell phone. Haley almost dropped the phone with anticipation.

"Um…hi"

"Hales, can you run over here real quick?"

"Um…ok, why?"

"Can you just come?"

"Yeah…" Haley hung up the phone and grabbed the keys. She drove quickly to Nathan's house and rang the doorbell.

"Is everything okay?" she asked when he opened the door.

"Yeah, yeah…we need to talk"

"Yeah, we do" Haley said, stepping inside. "We-"

"Hales, before you start, I have something to say" Nathan said, motioning for her to sit down.

"Ok?"

"Yeah…look, I'm sorry about my little scheme to throw Dan off- that was stupid and probably wouldn't have worked and I was stupid as hell to risk our relationship for some petty revenge thing with my father. Haley, I love you more than you'll ever know, and I know I had a hell of a way of showing it, but god damn it I can't be without you. These past two weeks have been like utter torture- not being able to hug you, to kiss you, and to say I love you every 3 seconds. The one thing I want you to know, whether or not you take me back, is that I love you more than I've ever loved anyone I was with. No one sends my heart careening into 30 different places. No one keeps me up all night and makes me smile twenty four seven. No one. I love you, Haley, and nothing is ever going to change that. I'll live my entire life alone, loving you, then ever try to substitute someone for you"

Haley looked up at Nathan with tears in her eyes and got up. She kissed him softly. Nathan had his answer.

* * *

Brooke guessed Lucas had something romantic planned. She hoped, at least. She had put on her most flattering golden sweater and done her makeup smoky. She truly looked phenomenal. Brooke got out of the car and rang the doorbell. Karen opened the door, ushered Brooke in, winked, and headed towards the car. She had agreed to leave Brooke and Lucas alone for the night.

Brooke walked in and gasped. The entire dining room was scattered with rose petals. Two candles burned on a table. A dinner was carefully prepared, and Lucas was sitting there in a nice shirt and khakis. A smile spread across Brooke's face as she ran to give him a hug.

"Is this all for me?"

"Of course it is" Lucas said. He pulled out her chair and she took a seat, beaming.

"Lucas this is SO sweet" Brooke said, taking a sip of her water. "Thank you"

"Anything for you" Lucas smiled, reaching over to take her hand. "You like everything?"

"Yes, I LOVE it" Brooke giggled. "This is SO sweet" Brooke squealed. "Talk about a dream come true"

"No, Brooke…you're my dream come true"

"Lucas…" Brooke smiled shyly at him. She could feel it. Feel her heart racing, feel her face flushing, feel her stomach fluttering… feel herself falling madly, crazily in love.

**A/N: I'm BAAACK! Sorry this chapter sucked. Did you see tonight's episode? Brooke and Lucas are too cute for words! GAH! REVIEW!**


	16. We're Happy

Nathan rolled over and threw his hand over Haley. And he was thrilled that he met her warm body- not air. He pulled her closer and buried his face in her neck. She giggled and wriggled away.

"That tickles"

"I know, that's why I do it"

"Nathan Scott! You prey upon my ticklishness?"

"Yes, I do" Nathan laughed. "And I enjoy it"

"I'm angry…" Haley giggled.

"I don't know many people who look happy when they're angry" Nathan laughed.

"Shush! I'm angry" Haley tried to scrunch her eyebrows like she was angry but gave up and started laughing.

"You're so cute" Nathan laughed, kissing her. "What do you wanna do for breakfast?"

"Eat…hmmm…pancakes! Make pancakes, Nate!" Haley said.

"You want me to burn down the house?" Nathan asked, laughing.

"I see I still assume the role of 'wife', even when we aren't married" Haley laughed.

"You were always that sort of person"

"Oh really?" Haley arched her eyebrows.

"Really" Nathan chuckled, grabbing her waist and tickling her.

_Over at Lucas's…_

"Lucas Scott! Roll over" Brooke nudged him and then decided to kick him off. Lucas rolled and fell with a thump on his carpeted floor.

"Brooke!" Lucas whined.

"You were taking up a lot of space"

"Brooke!"

"I love you"

"I love you too" Lucas shook his head. He didn't mind being in bed with Brooke and having her knock him off. He just like the whole fact that he'd waited almost over a year to do what they had done last night.

"What are you thinking about?" Brooke asked.

"You"

"Aw, really?"

"Really"

"What are you thinking about?"

"About how much I love you"

"Aw! I love you too"

"Yeah" Lucas pulled her closer to her and kissed her hair.

"I want breakfast"

"Wanna go to the Café?"

"Sure…I'll call Hales and Nate and see if they wanna come"

"Ok" Lucas nodded. "I'll go get ready"

"Mm k…hey, Luke?"

"Yeah?"

"I love you"

"I love you too" Lucas smiled. "More than you'll ever know" he added in a whisper.

* * *

"Amanda, she's hot" Chris scratched his chin thoughtfully as he talked to his cousin. "And I want her back"

"You never HAD her" Amanda pointed out.

"She did kiss me"

"Look, Chris, I know you're like in love with her and everything, but she just got back together with Nathan. It'd be totally utterly wrong to mess with them!"

"But dude…she's hot" Chris said. He swigged another glass of champagne.

"Chris! You're drunk and you're being stupid! Don't mess with Haley and Nathan's relationship! I've watched ASSHOLES destroy perfect relationships, and I don't want my cousin to be an asshole, ok? Don't TOUCH them, understand me?"

"Why do you care so frigging much?"

"Because some asshole destroyed my relationship, too. And I hate to see it happen to anyone else"

"I don't care what you say, Amanda, I'm gonna go get her" Chris got up.

"Chris, get your ass back in here!"

* * *

"Our vow renewal is back on" Haley smiled at Brooke and Lucas as she announced the news.

"Yay!" Brooke hugged Haley tightly. "I'm so happy for you!"

"Thanks" Haley was beaming like a little kid on Christmas. And Nathan looked pretty happy, too.

"Congrats, Nate" Lucas smiled.

"Thanks"

"When is it?" Brooke asked.

"March 20th"

"Yay! That's in like 1 month!"

"Yeah!" Haley giggled. Nathan found her hand under the table and entwined it with his. Just the very thought of him and Haley being together again, being husband and wife, being best friends, being soul mates- doing it the way they were supposed to made him so happy he couldn't think straight.

Lucas and Nathan watched as Brooke and Haley giggled and talked about the upcoming vow renewal. Neither of them could keep their eyes off 'their' girl. Pretty, sweet, and smart, both Brooke and Haley drove Lucas and Nathan, respectively, crazy. Lucas couldn't bear seeing Brooke with another guy and Nathan thought he'd spontaneously combust when Haley talked to Chris.

"Dude…we got lucky"

"I know" Nathan nodded, watching Haley flip her hair over her shoulder and whisper something to Brooke.

"Yeah…we got REALLY lucky" Lucas watched as Brooke smiled widely and giggled. One of the reasons he had fallen madly in love with her was her dimpled smile. Her eyes sparkled and danced when she laughed or smiled, and that sent Lucas reeling in 10 different directions.

"Hey, boys" Brooke leaned over the table. "Wanna go on a road trip?"

"Um…that would be fun- it's kind of the middle of February, though. What's the occasion?" Nathan asked.

"No occasion…it'd just be fun" Haley said. "Senior year, road trip to nowhere!"

"Ok when are we leaving?" Lucas asked.

"Tonight" Brooke giggled. "For 5 days"

"Sounds fun! We're going to miss school, though"

"Well we have today off, Saturday and Sunday, and Monday off- and we'll miss Tuesday"

"That works" Nathan nodded. "We'll go in the BMW"

"Sounds FUN!" Brooke clapped her hands. "Hales and I wanna go home and pack- care to join?"

"Sure" Nathan and Lucas paid for their respective girlfriends and got up to follow them out the door.

Once at Brooke and Haley's, the packing began. Everything from this to that had to go with Brooke and Haley.

"I thought the point of a road trip was to pack light?" Nathan asked.

"Shush, we're girls, and you DO want us to look hot, right?" Haley asked.

"Yeah, yeah we do" Nathan admitted. "Fine, carry on"

Brooke giggled and Lucas looked up to watch her pack. He didn't even have to be looking in her eyes to know how much in love he was. Every part of her, every aspect of her personality, every little motion made him fall harder and harder for her.

"Hey Brooke?" Lucas whispered in her ear.

"Yeah?"

"I love you"

"I love you, too"

_A couple of hours later at Nathan's…_

"Nathan you have GOT to pack more than that" Haley insisted.

"I know, I know" Nathan sighed, pulling her close to him and kissing her. Haley giggled and pulled away.

"You suck"

"Why?"

"Because you win every argument- all you have to do is kiss me and I can't help but let it go" Haley pouted.

"I win every argument? All YOU have to do is smile or giggle and I like can't think straight" Nathan defended.

"Aw, really?"

"Really" Nathan said. "I love you Haley"

"I love you more" Haley stood on her tiptoes and kissed Nathan.

"I love you more than more" Nathan laughed. He realized how cheesy they were being but he didn't care.

"Nu-uh" Haley giggled, tossing her hair over her shoulder and folding one of Nathan's shirts.

"No seriously" Nathan said as he watched her, his heart racing a mile a minute. "I don't think I could love anyone anymore than I love you"

* * *

"Ok, everything's loaded…are we ready to go?" Brooke asked.

"Ready!" everyone chorused back.

"Ok…our road trip begins!" Brooke shouted, jumping into the car after Haley.

**A/N: Sorry this chapter sucked…I need something new to write about…now everyone's together and happy and there's no drama left…aghhh. Review!**


	17. Road Trip!

"Let's play Haley's song!" Brooke clapped her hands enthusiastically. "It's SO good"

"No, no, lets NOT" Haley said quickly.

"Why not, babe? I love your song" Nathan asked.

"It's uncomfortable when people I know listen to my stuff…its weird" Haley said.

"But it's good!" Brooke insisted. Haley giggled and rolled her eyes.

"Ok, FINE" Haley said, rummaging around the CD compartments. She popped in the CD and everyone quieted down as Haley's voice came over the system.

_I never promised you a ray of light_

_I never promised they'd be sunshine every day_

_I gave you everything I had, the good and the bad_

_Why do you put me on a pedestal?_

_I'm so up high that I can't see the ground below_

_So help me down, you've got it wrong_

_I don't belong there_

Everyone sat in silence as they listened to the song. It was so true that they all wanted so much for their relationships to be perfect, wanted so much to live the fairytale they'd dreamed up for themselves, wanted all that so much that they'd change themselves and go places they didn't want to, to make them work.

_Over at Jakes…_

"Peyton, why didn't you go with them?" Jake asked.

"Because you would've needed help with Jenny and I didn't wanna leave you hanging"

"Peyton you have GOT to stop this" Jake said. "I appreciate your help SO much but I don't want you to be trapped because of me and Jenny…you're in your senior year of high school…you deserve to have FUN…I'll deal with Jenny- she's my responsibility, not yours"

"Jake, I wanna help you…I love being with Jenny…and plus Nathan and Haley and Brooke and Lucas need their time to work things out"

"But--"

"No buts, Jake- I'm here to help"

"You really are amazing, you know that, right?" Jake said, kissing her softly.

"Well…you could say that" Peyton giggled.

* * *

"Why are we all so depressed?" Brooke demanded. "We're on a road trip!"

"Its raining…rain depresses me" Nathan sighed heavily.

"Nathan, cheer up!" Brooke said, smacking his arm. "You too, Lucas…you guys need to get over it!"

"What's there to get over?" Nathan asked glumly.

"OK, that's it! Britney Spears" Brooke said, reaching over Haley to get to the stereo system"

"NO, Brooke…" everyone groaned.

"I said it, we're doing it" Brooke said. "I don't care"

Britney Spear's 'Oops, I did it Again' blared over the car's stereo system.

"Come on everyone…OOPS I DID IT AGAIN!" Brooke shouted. "Part-ay!"

"Brooke, my eardrums are gone" Haley said. "And my head is going to burst open"

"I can't hear you…" Brooke teased. "Come on, Luke, you always do my crazy things" Brooke begged.

"Brooke, sweetheart, as much as I love you" Lucas laughed, kissing her. "I refuse to sing to Britney Spears at the top of my lungs in this stage of my masculinity"

"What masculinity?" Brooke teased.

"Ooh, BURN, dude" Nathan laughed, high fiving Brooke.

"Yeah, Lucas, you were always sort of a girly man" Haley giggled. She put her arm on Nathan's shoulder and kissed him on the cheek. "My man, however, is a MAN"

"Thanks, Hales" Lucas shook his head, unable to suppress a smile.

"Hey, bitch, bring it on" Brooke turned to Haley. "My man is HOT"

"Mines hotter…" Haley giggled.

"Hey dude, my girl is hotter than yours" Nathan laughed.

"What? I don't buy that" Lucas mocked looking angry. "My girl isn't HOT, she's beautiful"

"Oh, he wins that one Nathan" Haley said, smacking him. "I wanna be called beautiful not hot!"

"She's gorgeous…beat that" Nathan laughed. Insanely cheesy as this argument was, he was having fun, and he was thrilled he could openly compliment Haley again.

"You both win…" Brooke giggled. "Turn off at that rest stop, I have to pee, and I'm hungry"

"I'm hungry too" Haley said. "How about we stop at like Chili's or something?"

"Works with me" Nathan nodded, turning into the rest stop.

_Meanwhile, in Tree Hill…_

"I hope the kids are having fun" Deb said to Karen as they cleaned the tables of the café. "They needed a little break from all of the stuff that's been going on"

"Yeah…hey did you hear about that Rachel girl?"

"Yeah, Nate told me…she's pregnant…with Dan's child" Deb spat. "Good thing I divorced his lousy ass"

"Yeah…he's such a sick, sick man…and it's weird, now Nate and Luke are gonna have a half sibling whose mother is their age" Karen said.

"Yeah…that girl gave Brooke a real hard time, didn't she?" Deb asked.

"Yeah…she nearly destroyed Brooke and Lucas and Lucas's hatred for her is sort of really…strong" Karen said.

"He must really love Brooke…but I think they're a little young for true love"

Karen remembered the way Lucas talked about Brooke, they way he looked when he did, and how his voice sounded so happy and full whenever she was brought up. A small smile crept across her face. "Nah…you're never too young for true love"

_Meanwhile at a Chili's in South Carolina…_

"So what's our game plan?" Brooke asked as they sat, eating their food in Chili's.

"Well I have a really nice hotel we could stop at on our way down" Nathan said. "It's a 4 star hotel and we could chill there for a night and check out their facilities…and then look around the area and then drive a little further and then on the way back stay there too"

"That sounds good" Brooke said. "I'm so glad we're doing this…its gonna be a trip to remember, you guys…and I cant believe we're seniors…we're all going to college so soon!"

"I know…" Haley sighed. "Nathan and I don't even know if we're gonna be able to go to the same college"

"Why!" Brooke exclaimed. "You guys are married, you need to go to the same college"

"Yeah, but Hales wants to go to Yale, and I'm sure they'll accept her, but I cant get into Yale- I'm gonna have to go to a local community college or something"

"Wow…well" Brooke sighed. "Lets talk about something happier, guys"

"College is gonna be a blast, but if we're separated it's gonna SUCK" Nathan said. "But I'm sure it'll all work out"

"Me too" Haley nodded. "And" Haley smiled at Brooke. "People who are meant to be together always find their way back in the end"

"True that" Brooke nodded.

* * *

"Chris, you are so flipping stupid" Amanda smacked her cousin upside the head. "Haley is gone, with Nathan, her HUSBAND, somewhere. Do you really think YOU, the screwed up musician, are going to be able to mess their relationship up? It sounds pretty rock solid to me!"

"I did it once, I can do it again"

"I can help" Rachel added.

"Rachel you are such a bitch! Brooke and Lucas helped you and now you're turning your back on them? When you're in labor and no one wants to contaminate their car with your germs, don't go running to them for help!" Amanda snapped.

"How do you know everything that goes on? You don't even LIVE in Tree Hill!" Rachel asked. "And why are you like strangely OBSESSED with Brooke and Lucas?"

"I have eyes and ears everywhere…plus my younger cousin is a junior at Tree Hill High"

"What's her name?" Rachel asked.

"Not telling you"

"Why?"

"Cause then you're gonna interrogate the life out of her" Amanda said. "Chris, stop being an ass. And Rachel, stop being a pregnant ass. You two make me sick. What on earth could you possibly get by destroying them? Haley isn't gonna fall for you, Chris, and Rachel, Luke isn't gonna fall for you- ever. So return to your sorry ass lives"

"Jeez, Amanda, PMSing much?" Chris asked.

"CHRISTOPHER KELLER I AM GOING TO-"

"Ok, sorry! Gosh, I thought we resolved this fighting thing when we were um, I don't know, 5?"

"Yeah you're like my younger brother, so I am entitled to kick your ass when you do stupid stuff"

"I think I'm in love with Haley…" Chris looked off into the distance.

"I'm definitely NOT in love with Luke…I just don't like Brooke" Rachel smirked.

"I see going through such a traumatizing event as finding out you're pregnant with a 40 year old mans child hasn't done much for your attitude"

"Nope"

"Good to know" Amanda sighed, plopping down on the couch.

* * *

"In 10 years, I wanna be married with one child…preferably a girl" Brooke giggled.

"In 10 years, I wanna be married…I don't know about children" Haley scrunched up her nose. "Childbirth sounds painful"

"Oh yeah, I heard it is" Luke said. "My mom said it sucked with me"

"Haha…" Brooke giggled. "Where do you want to be in 10 years, Luke?"

"Married, in love, with maybe one kid?" Lucas said.

"Boy or girl?"

"Hmm…girl"

"Really?" Brooke asked.

"Yeah"

"Why?"

"Cause then I can spoil her rotten" Lucas laughed.

"Aw that's so cute!" Brooke giggled. "I'm totally spoiling my kids rotten"

"Oh yeah" Haley nodded. "Rotten"

Conversations like these were held throughout Nathan, Haley, Brooke, and Lucas's road trip. They had a blast, with some strange occurrences, and some mishaps. But all in all, the 4 friends had a good time. For the first time in what seemed like forever, they were all friends, all happy, and all in love.

**A/N: GAH this chapter sucked. Forgive me. Please review!**


	18. We'll Make It Through It All

Haley rolled over on her bed and sighed. It had been so quiet last night. Brooke was at Lucas's, and Nathan hadn't spent the night. It was so nice for it to be quiet again.

Chris crept up the stairs to Brooke and Haley's apartment and entered silently. He entered to find Haley sound asleep in her bed, a huge space right next to her. He fought the urge to climb in but didn't win, and climbed right in. Haley didn't budge a centimeter and continued sleeping.

Nathan climbed up Haley's stairs. He had brought her breakfast and hoped she would like it. He walked down the hall and into Haley's room…but what he saw made him drop the coffee and donuts and stare with his mouth wide open. There was Chris Keller IN Haley's bed.

"Oh my god!" Nathan yelled. "Haley, what are you doing!"

"What…Chris? Nathan? What are you doing here?" Haley asked, sitting up and casting a confused look in Chris's direction.

"Well I WAS bringing you breakfast" Nathan spat. "But since I got to see you and Keller in bed, I guess that went to a waste"

"What are you doing here, Chris?" Haley asked in a sleepy daze.

"Haley, did you forget last night?" Chris asked.

"Last night? There was no last night!" Haley screeched. "I don't know where he came from, Nathan, I swear"

"I don't know what to believe anymore, Haley" Nathan said, looking like his heart had been crunched into a million pieces. "You say you love me, you wanna work on our marriage, but then I come visit you and find you in bed with another GUY? And not just any guy, the same one that destroyed our marriage in the first place!"

"Wow, I'm good" Chris commented.

"GET YOUR ASS OUT OF MY BED; I DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU'RE DOING HERE!" Haley screamed. "Nathan, I don't know how he got in and why he's in my bed but I swear to god nothing happened"

"Why was he talking about last night?" Nathan asked. "Actually, you know what, never mind. I deserve an explanation, but I will get one when I don't have front center seats to my wife and Chris Keller in BED…two weeks before our vow renewal" Nathan stomped out of the apartment.

"Chris, I swear to god I'm going to kill you!" Haley screamed. "There was no last night, and you know it! Why are you here and why cant you leave me alone?" Haley's voice was breaking.

"Haley, I love you"

"Chris, that's bullshit. There might have been something there-once upon a time, a long time ago…now I'm with Nathan and I'll be with him forever. I don't understand you, Chris! If you love me, you'd care about my happiness. And if you care about my happiness, then you wouldn't destroy what makes me happy, and that's me and Nathan!" now Haley was shaking with suppressed sobs and Chris looked at her and blinked. Suddenly it all cleared. What he was doing. What he had caused. What he had destroyed.

* * *

Brooke giggled and wriggled loose of Lucas's grip. 

"Broody, you have me in a death grip"

"You're warm" Lucas murmured into her neck, kissing it softly.

"That tickles!"

"I know"

"Lucas…stop" Brooke giggled. "I'm so ticklish"

"Fine, fine" Lucas kissed her. "You are SO beautiful"

"Really?"

"Really"

"How do you know that?" Brooke asked.

"Because I do"

"Ok" Brooke laughed. "Good answer"

"What, was I supposed to go deeper?" Lucas asked, looking in her eyes.

"Yeah! You were supposed to be like 'my love…reflected…in your eyes…makes you so beautiful' and then sigh dramatically and then ravish me" Brooke giggled.

"I'll do the last part"

"Lucas!"

"My love…reflect-"

"Smart aleck" Brooke said, smacking him.

"I love you" Lucas laughed.

"Love you too" Brooke rolled her eyes.

* * *

"Nathan! Nathan listen to me!" Brooke grabbed Nathan's arm. "Don't storm out of here like this. Listen to her! You know the type of person Chris is and the type of things he would do. The door was unlocked. He could've snuck in. Nathan, hear your wife out" 

"Ex-wife"

"Nate, don't say stuff like that" Lucas said. "I have full trust in Haley and I'm confident she didn't have anything to do with it…dude, just listen to her!"

"I won't do it! She cheated once, she's gonna cheat again"

"She loves you Nathan and she didn't cheat on you with Chris! She left for her music" Brooke insisted. "Nathan…just go talk to her…please"

"No! This is the second time this has happened! Do you know what it's like to lose the one person who you think is the world to you? The one person who you cant live without? The one person who sends your heart and stomach and head reeling in opposite directions? The one person who if you touch your heart drops to your stomach? Haley's that one person for me, Brooke, and I can't stand seeing her with another guy, whether or not she did anything! I love her more than words can explain…I lost her once and it broke my heart into a million pieces. I thought I had her back but I guess not! If taking her back means going through what I went through when she left, I can't do it, Brooke, I can't! I'm through with this…my heart has had all it can take" Nathan heard a rustle and turned around.

"Nathan…hi" Haley said.

"Haley…"

"Can we talk?"

* * *

"Lucas?" Brooke asked. 

"Yeah?"

"Do you think we'll be together forever?"

"Of course"

"You really believe that?"

"I really believe that"

"How come?"

"Because if you ever left, I'd be nothing"

"Really?"

"Really…I love you, Brooke Penelope Davis"

"I love you too, Lucas Eugene Scott"

"I see a lot of loving is going on over here"

"Rachel? What are you doing here?"

"I'm here to let you know that" Rachel paused, tears filling her eyes. "I helped Chris come to Haley's…I gave him the idea…I wanted to destroy Nathan and Haley and hope that you guys would get doubtful and breakup"

"Rachel…why would you do something like that?" Brooke gasped.

"Because I…I don't know what's wrong with me" Rachel sat down on the bench. "I need help, Brooke"

"Why?"

"I tried to kill myself today"

"Rachel!"

"Rachel, get in the house. Brooke, call 911" Lucas said. "We need to call an ambulance"

"Why? All she did was try" Brooke turned to Lucas with a confused look.

"No she didn't just try" Lucas pointed to the pill dust on Rachel's shirt. "Looks to me like" Lucas pulled a packet of sleeping pills out of Rachel's pocket before she could stop him. "She swallowed a bunch of sleeping pills"

"Oh god…" Brooke opened her cell phone and dialed 911.

**A/N: Dun dun dun! Right? I thought I'd shake some stuff up…review!**


	19. Its All Up To God

"Nathan, I didn't sleep with Chris…I promise" Haley said as they sat on the benches at the Rivercourt.

"Haley, I thought I trusted you and I want to believe you didn't, but I don't know…I saw what I saw"

"Nate its not like I was naked…and he was fully clothed with SHOES on…why would he do that if we had slept together? Nathan I love you…I couldn't ever be with anyone other than you…it wouldn't even come close to how it feels when I'm with you"

"Haley I love you and I believe you…I just…I'm scared. Scared that we're not gonna work out. Scared that we're gonna end up divorced"

"Nathan why would we end up divorced? Are you planning to divorce me because I'm definitely not gonna divorce you" Haley said softly, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"No, I'm just afraid that THINGS will get in the way"

"What things?"

"All of them! The fact that you left with Chris, my father, our young age. There are a lot of things getting in the way Haley, and I'm not saying we're not strong enough to overcome them, but they're going to weaken us and that's the last thing I want"

"Nathan" Haley sighed. "Whenever I think about all those things that are gonna be obstacles, the one thing that stays in my mind is the day we got married. The way you looked. The way you spoke. The way we said 'I love you' and promised ourselves, forever, to each other. And that's a promise I refuse to break"

"Ok…so…let's talk"

"Let's talk"

_Meanwhile…_

Brooke sat impatiently with Lucas in the waiting lounge of the hospital, tapping her foot.

"Is she gonna be ok? Is the baby gonna be ok?" Brooke asked the doctor as he came out.

"The baby will be fine…Rachel, not so much" the doctor said honestly. "We're going to keep her on a respirator until she gives birth, but maybe she'll wake up before that. I understand you are her friends, but we need a family member, like a mother or a father, to make some decisions"

"Ok…um…well her parents aren't exactly here, but I'll try to get in contact…doctor, what's wrong with her?"

"She took a lot of strong sleeping pills…and she put herself in a severe coma. Her brain isn't giving anything but faint signals. She can't breathe by herself and right now she's on a respirator because the baby needs oxygen"

"Is there a chance for her to survive?" Brooke asked with her voice breaking. She couldn't believe she was so worried about RACHEL, who destroyed her and Lucas's relationship, made her miserable for a good 3 months, and who was such a slut she slept with a 40 year old man and was now pregnant.

"Do you want me to be straight with you, Miss Davis?" the doctor asked solemnly.

"Yes"

"It's all up to God. There's a minimal chance she's gonna wake up. Right now, we want to save the developing fetus. She's ready to give birth at the earliest at the end of May. She's 6 and a half months pregnant almost to date…we can sustain her long enough to save the baby"

"Oh god" Brooke said. "I'm gonna call Nathan and Haley"

"Ok…can I see her?" Lucas asked.

"Of course"

_At the Rivercourt…_

"Oh my gosh" Haley said. "We'll be right there"

"What?" Nathan asked Haley.

"Rachel ate a bunch of pills and she's in a coma now and they're keeping her alive until she can have the baby and then…they don't know…we have to go right away"

"Definitely" Nathan said, getting up and following Haley to his car.

Haley and Nathan rushed to the hospital as fast as they could. They burst through the lounge door to find Brooke standing there, looking helpless and worried.

"Brooke, sweetie…what's going on?"

"Rachel's basically…dead. She's on a respirator. They're keeping her alive until the baby is born"

"Brooke…"

"They don't think she's gonna wake up" Brooke said, a tear slipping down her cheek. "Why am I so worried for her?"

"I'm worried too" Haley said, hugging Brooke. "Can we see her?"

"Miss Davis first, please" the nurse instructed.

"Rachel…" Brooke said when she walked in. The girl who once had a smirk on her face 24/7 look calm and peaceful as her eyes fluttered up and down as her chest rose and fell with the help of the respirator. Brooke's heart jumped every time she thought she saw Rachel's eyes open a tiny bit. "Rachel…what did you do?"

"Brooke, babe, you ok?" Lucas asked as he came in.

"Why, Lucas? Why did she wanna kill herself?" Brooke asked, her voice wavering.

"Brooke, I can't honestly answer that"

"What are we going to do?"

"I don't know, Brooke, I don't know"

**A/N: Ok I know it's a super short chapter but I didn't wanna cram too much stuff in…sorry its so depressing! Lol review…**


	20. Bittersweet

Chapter 20: Bittersweet

_One day, on a mid-April morning…_

"Today marks a very sad day in our life" the principal of Tree Hill High School boomed at the high school students. "A student of ours has been declared to be in an official vegetative state…I…honestly don't know what to tell you guys other than to pray for her…pray for her family, pray for her friends, and pray for her baby"

"We have to go visit her after school" Brooke whispered to Lucas. He nodded and put an arm around her. Brooke leaned her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes. Never would she have thought that the misfortune of a person who she was sure she loathed with every fiber of her being would affect her so strongly. Brooke went to visit Rachel every single day in the hospital, taking flowers and cards or talking to her about the baby, who was (thank goodness) a healthy almost full term baby girl.

"Brooke…I just want you to know I think it's so good of you to go visit her and be with her during this hard time" her guidance counselor told her on the way out. Brooke nodded with appreciation and walked quietly down the hall.

This situation had made her think a lot about her life, about her and Lucas, about how negative self image could lead to such drastic measures. Brooke was graduating in about a month. Her senior year, her high school years, were drawing to a final end.

Everything she thought had been so important to her now seemed so frivolous. The Coach and Burberry purses, the pretty Mercedes, the huge house, the wealth, everything she was accustomed to, everything she had thought was her life…now seemed pathetically useless. All Brooke Davis wanted out of life was love. All she wanted was to leave the world a little better place.

* * *

"Hey babe" Lucas said when he walked into Haley and Brooke's apartment. He hugged her tightly and kissed the top of her head. "Are you ready to go?"

"Ready" Brooke grabbed her purse and followed Lucas out the door. She was going to go visit Rachel. Nathan and Haley were going to swing by later, but Brooke didn't wanna wait for them to be done doing…whatever they were doing.

"Hello Miss Davis" the secretary smiled and ushered her through. She had seen a lot of this hospital in the past month.

Brooke made her way with Lucas up to the intensive care ward. The secretary there ushered her through, recognizing her. When Brooke got to Rachel's bed, though, it was empty.

"Lucas, where is she?"

"Let me find out" Lucas went over to talk to the nurse. He returned with a solemn expression on his face. "Um…Brooke, sweetie-"

"No"

"She passed away this afternoon at 12:00. She went into labor and delivered the baby…who by the way is healthy and happy- they were waiting for you to come name her. I'm sorry, Brooke"

"I'm sorry, too…for the little time I knew her, she drove me insane and I hated her. But truth is, she was exactly like me. Struggling to find a place to fit in where people love you"

"I agree…you wanna go see the baby?"

"Yeah" Brooke brightened a little. Rachel was gone, but she had left a mark on the world. She had left a mark on the school and on the squad…but most importantly, she had left a mark in Brooke's life.

_Meanwhile…_

"So are we supposed to be having hot, wild sex?" Haley giggled.

"No" Nathan laughed. "But I'm all up for it!"

"Nate…we're here to talk!"

"What's there to talk about, Haley? I love you…I know you didn't sleep with Chris…I overreacted…I wanna reaffirm our vows already…Haley, I wanna be with you for the rest of my life…I can't be away from you any longer"

"Nathan…" Haley leaned in for a kiss when her phone rang. As the person spoke, tears filled her eyes and ran down her cheeks.

"Haley, Haley what's wrong?" Nathan asked.

"Rachel's…gone"

"And the baby?" Nathan asked.

"Alive and healthy"

"We should go to the hospital" Nathan suggested, getting up. Haley nodded and followed Nathan to the car.

They arrived at the hospital 10 minutes later. They met Brooke in the nursery, who was standing there holding a little baby girl.

"Oh my gosh! She's so cute!" Haley said, rushing over and cooing over the baby.

"Dude, that's our half sister right there" Nathan told Lucas.

"Yeah…weird, huh?"

"Yeah" Nathan glanced over at Haley and Brooke cooing over the little girl. "What did Brooke name her?"

"Umm...Brooke! What's her name?"

"I chose Andrea- it means strength…which she's gonna need a lot of when she's older"

"Oh that's beautiful…middle name?" Haley asked.

"Rachel"

"Andrea Rachel. Beautiful" the nurse smiled and took the baby from Brooke. "I'm gonna pull up her birth certificate and then I need to sign the adoption certificate"

"Adoption certificate?" Brooke asked.

"Yeah" Karen and Andy were standing in the doorway. "We're adopting her"

* * *

"So baby Andrea is happy…and healthy…and has a home with the two best people in the world" Brooke sighed when her and Lucas got home. "Thank god"

"You know, Brooke, you were amazing through all this…I can't believe the amount of strength you showed"

"Well…sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do, right?"

"Right"

"What do we do now?" Brooke asked.

"We sleep" Lucas said, pulling her down on the bed. "It's been a long day"

**A/N: Sorry it was so depressing lol! No more depressing stuff after this…review! And sorry its so short…I just don't wanna crowd chapters with other stuff when one event is the main focus…REVIEW!**


	21. Always and Forever

_Yay…It's a happy chapter!_

"Haley, you look beautiful" Brooke assured her, brushing a curl out of Haley's face. It was May 1st, the new day Haley and Nathan had set to 'reaffirm their vows'.

Brooke was in a simple lilac dress. Haley was in a white strapless flowing dress, not too fancy, but not too simple either. Peyton was rebellious and was wearing a fire engine red dress, and Jenny was in a cute little frilly frock which, according to Jake, 'made Peyton wanna throw up'.

Baby Andrea was sleeping soundly in Andy's arms, dressed in an exact replica of Jenny's frilly contraption. Karen was fussing over her as well as Haley and in general, being the 'motherly' figure at this whole thing, was just fussing.

Nathan was in a nice suit, Lucas in a collared shirt and khakis, which Brooke LOVED.

"You look beautiful" Lucas kissed her. "And I've been waiting for this day for so long"

"Me too…finally they can't beat around the bush…plus I think Haley's preggers"

"WHAT?"

"Kidding! Jeez, boyfriend! Calm down" Brooke giggled.

"Oh…you gave me a heart attack, Brooke!" Lucas laughed.

"I'm good at that" Brooke kissed Lucas.

"You also give me good heart attacks" Lucas smiled at her.

"I do? Like what?" Brooke cocked her head to one side, sending her curls all in one direction.

"Like the ones I get when I see you smile…and laugh"

"Aw…have I told you how much I love you?"

"Yeah, but I don't think you could ever love me as much as I love you"

"Try me" Brooke kissed him softly. "Ok, I gotta go help Haley…love you"

"Love you too" Lucas smiled and watched her back retreat.

"Hey Luke can you hold Andrea for a sec? I need to go help Nate with his tie…technical difficulties" Andy rolled his eyes and chuckled.

"Sure…hey pretty girl" Lucas said, holding Andrea. The baby cooed and grabbed Lucas's finger. He laughed and played with her while Brooke watched from the sidelines.

"Aw…Lucas is so cute with Andrea" Brooke sighed.

"Yeah" Peyton laughed. "And we're ready"

"Yay!" Brooke said, hugging Haley. "See you out there, Hales"

"See you" nervous butterflies fluttered in Haley's stomach.

Brooke and Peyton left the little tent. Haley sighed deeply. The past year flashed in front of her eyes.

"_It's either me or him. You can choose"_

"_Nathan…Nathan don't walk out!"_

…

"_And now…Haley James!"_

"_Scott" Haley whispered._

"_What?" Chris asked._

"_Nothing…on 3"_

…

"_Chris, you can't just KISS me!"_

"_Why not? I love you"_

"_Chris!"_

…

"_Haley…will you spend the night with me tonight?"_

"_Oh, I was hoping you would say that"_

………

Haley walked out slowly and saw Nathan. Suddenly it was all clear. They were MEANT to be together. Haley and Nathan. Nathan and Haley. Either way, it was them…always and forever.

* * *

"Ok…bye Hales, bye Nate…have fun on your second honeymoon" Brooke winked, hugging Nathan and Haley. 

"Yeah" Haley giggled. "We'll have tons of fun"

"You better, you deserve it" Peyton hugged her.

Nathan and Haley drove home in happy silence. Haley was living with Nathan and Deb for right now. Brooke had bid her a teary goodbye two days ago. Now Lucas had moved in with Brooke, Andrea was in Lucas's room, and Haley was living with Nathan. Jake and Jenny were living at Peyton's, Ellie was at Peyton's, and soon Peyton's dad would be too.

"So…wife" Nathan smiled at Haley.

"So…husband"

"I love you more than life itself, you know that, right?"

"Yeah…Nathan?"

"Yeah"

"Thank you"

"For…?"

"For being such a good person with me and sticking around for me at the end…I couldn't ask for a better husband or a better best friend"

"Haley…"

"Seriously, Nate…thank you. I love you for that"

_A couple of hours later…_

"NATHAN SCOTT, don't you dare throw me in that pool…NATHAN!"

"You look hot wet" Nathan laughed when Haley resurfaced.

"NATHAN!"

"I love you"

"I love you too" Haley said. "Humph. It's cold"

"Come here" Nathan held out his arms.

"Why, so you can dunk me again?"

"No, so I can hold you"

"For how long?"

"Always and forever"

**A/N: Another short one…sorry! Its more fun if the chapter is concentrated on one thing rather than like 10 other storylines. It was happy though ;-) Next one's graduation! The story'll prolly go up to the end of their summer, and then a sequel about their college lives! Review!**


	22. Graduation

"Brooke…sweetie, wake up…its graduation day!" Lucas shook his girlfriend awake.

"Oh my god, it is!" Brooke said, shooting up. "We're graduating!"

"Yeah…high school has come to an end" Lucas said, kissing Brooke good morning. "And now we're going to college"

"I'm glad Haley decided on UNC with us instead of somewhere else"

"Me too" Lucas said. "Plus, she and Nathan would've been seriously screwed up again if they had to be apart"

"Yeah…ok I'm gonna go take a shower…gotta look beautiful for graduation!"

"You always look beautiful" Lucas smiled.

"Well today, I wanna look gorgeous" Brooke giggled, running to the bathroom.

Lucas smiled to himself as he watched her run down the hallway into the bathroom. She was in every aspect what he wanted. And not physically as much as spiritually, in a life partner sort of way. Lucas's mind flashed back to the ring that was hidden at the bottom of the drawer. Should he, or should he not?

* * *

"Hey pretty girl" Lucas said to Andrea when his mom handed her to him.

"Lucas, watch your sister while I go get ready" Karen said hurriedly.

"Andrea!" Brooke giggled when she saw her. "Hi cutie pie…Lucas I'm stealing her from you"

"No way, she's all mine" Lucas laughed. 1 month old Andrea had no idea what was going on. She just cooed.

"Andy, do you have the camera!" Karen yelled as she brushed her hair franticly. Poor Karen. Days like these put her in such a hither thither.

"Yes, love, all 3 of them" Andy rolled his eyes and chuckled.

"I saw that!"

"Oops" Andy laughed, taking Andrea from Lucas. "Ok, its time for you kids to go…I'll see you at graduation"

"Ok" Brooke and Lucas nodded, hugged and kissed everyone goodbye, and then walked out to the car.

They both sat in silence as they drove to school. Her high school years flashed before her eyes. Being a naïve freshman, a less naïve sophomore, and then a junior. Her and Lucas's romance, the betrayal, the heartbreak, the forgiveness, the friendship, the falling in love again…then the summer without Lucas, the bittersweet reunion, Rachel, Chris, Nathan and Haley, Rachel dying, Andrea, and the many things in between. It had been a long, long 4 years. But they had also flown by…she remembered freshman orientation like it was yesterday…and now she was graduating.

* * *

"Oh my god…oh my god….OH MY GOD WE'RE GRADUATING!" Haley shrieked.

"I know…" Peyton sighed. She couldn't believe it. The four years had flown by.

The graduating class took a seat and turned to the principal.

"This class was amazing" he said. "It has so many talented people, so many students I got to know personally, and so many students I'm proud of" he went on to talk about the achievements, the colleges on their lists, etc. "Now I would invite our salutatorian to come up and make a speech…Brooke?"

Brooke Davis was salutatorian. Whispers echoed…most of them congratulatory.

"Four years ago" Brooke's voice boomed over the speaker. "We were all new. We didn't know each other…we were all the same when we started. There were no cliques yet, no popular crowd, no nerds, nothing. Now, I believe, we should graduate the way we began. Today, we're not classmates anymore. We're not lab partners. We're not team members…today, we walk away as friends. So stand up and look around. 95 percent of these people and you will never cross paths again- and every single one of them has affected your life. Today we leave Tree Hill High…we are no longer students here. But in a way, we'll always have a place here. We watched each other grow up, now we're watching each other graduate. So let's make it sweet…ladies and gentlemen, I present to you the graduating class of 2006!"

Thunderous applause greeted Brooke's speech. After hugs and smiles, Brooke took her seat again.

Then the valedictorian (Haley, of course) made her speech, and after that, it was time to graduate.

"Haley Scott…"

"…Nathan Scott"

"Brooke Davis…"

"…Lucas Scott"

"Peyton Sawyer…"

"…Jake Jageilski"

"Ladies and Gentleman, boys and girls, parents and grandparents, sisters and brothers, aunts and uncles…I present to you the graduating class of 2006!" the principal boomed into the microphone. A cheerful shout went up from the class, and they threw up their caps. As Brooke jumped up to catch her cap, Lucas caught her arm.

"Yeah?" she turned around, all smiles.

Lucas got down on one knee. "Brooke Davis, will you marry me?"

**A/N: Hope you liked the chapter…review!**


	23. God Blessed The Broken Road

Karen brushed a curl out of Brooke's face and hugged her daughter in law to be tightly.

"Brooke, I'm sorry your parents can't be here"

"I know, but I have you and Andy and Mr. Sawyer and all these people…I don't need them" Brooke whispered.

"You look beautiful" Karen hugged her. "And I'll let you have a moment with Peyton and Haley, and then I'll see you there, ok?"

"Ok"

"Brooke you look gorgeous" Haley hugged her, and so did Peyton. "Good luck…have fun…we love you"

"Thanks" Brooke said, breathing in deeply. Nervous butterflies fluttered in her stomach. She adjusted the strap on her wedding dress and sighed. She was doing this. She was 18 years old and she was getting married. But Brooke knew in her heart that no other guy could make her feel the way Lucas did. And no other guy could ever love her like she did. She knew what she was doing was right.

"You ok?" Larry Sawyer whispered to Brooke as he linked arms with her. "Here Comes the Bride" played in the background.

"I'm fine"

"Ready?"

"Yeah"

Larry led Brooke down the isle slowly. When Brooke laid eyes on Lucas, all the nervous butterflies disappeared. She knew why she was marrying him. And she knew it was the right thing to do.

* * *

"I would like to propose a toast to the newly married couple" Andy held up his glass. "To Brooke and Lucas" 

"To Brooke and Lucas" everyone echoed.

"And now, its time for the maid of honor's speech" the announcer said.

Peyton stood up and smiled. "I'm really honored to be here today. I mean really honored. These two crazy kids have been through a lot in their relationship over the past 3 years. They've been broken apart, sabotaged, betrayed, and they've had their share of happy times, too. But I'm confident they'll make it. They'll be together for life. Because that's Brooke and Lucas…they never give up on anything, and the last thing they'll give up on is each other…so, me and Haley planned a little something…Haley?"

Haley got up and took the mike. She signaled to the pianist and looked directly at Brooke and Lucas. "This one is for you two"

"May I have this dance?" Lucas asked Brooke softly.

"Of course" Brooke smiled and placed her hand in his.

Haley's beautiful voice came over speakers.

_I set out on a narrow way many years ago_

_Hoping I would find true love along the broken road_

_But I got lost a time or two_

_Wiped my brow and kept pushing through_

_I couldn't see how every sign pointed straight to you_

_Every long lost dream led me to where you are_

_Others who broke my heart they were like northern stars_

_Pointing me on my way into your loving arms_

_This much I know is true_

_That God blessed the broken road_

_That led me straight to you_

Brooke felt tears well up in her eyes. _What a perfect song_ she thought.

_I think about the years I spent just passing through  
_

_I'd like to have the time I lost and give it back to you  
_

_But you just smile and take my hand  
_

_You've been there you understand  
_

_It's all part of a grander plan that is coming true_

_Every long lost dream led me to where you are  
_

_Others who broke my heart they were like northern stars  
_

_Pointing me on my way into your loving arms  
_

_This much I know is true  
_

_That God blessed the broken road  
_

_That led me straight to you _

Now I'm just rolling home

Into my lover's arms

This much I know is true

That God blessed the broken road

That led me straight to you

That God blessed the broken road

That led me straight to you.

"People who belong together always find their way back in the end" Lucas whispered to her as they waltzed around the dance floor. "And I'm glad I finallyfound you"

**A/N: They're married. It made me SO, SO happy to write that chapter lol. Review!**


	24. A Whole New Chapter of a Whole New Life

"Hey silly girl…wake up" Lucas whispered to Andrea.

"Lucas, let her sleep!" Brooke laughed.

"I wanna play with her" he said.

"Uh huh…" Brooke giggled. 4 month old Andrea yawned and opened her eyes. It was August 5th- exactly a month before college started. Brooke and Lucas were babysitting Andrea because Andy and Karen were out to dinner.

"Hello, hello, hello!" Haley called as she entered the house with Nathan.

"Hey Hales…Nate" Brooke greeted.

"Hey…hey cutie pie" Haley cooed to Andrea, taking her from Lucas. "How's babysitting going?"

"Good" Brooke laughed. "She's such a good baby"

"She is" Lucas agreed, looking in his sister's direction.

"It's weird that we're her brothers" Nathan said. "We're like 18 years older than her!"

"I know…it's so weird" Lucas said. "But whatever…she's fun to play with"

"She is" Brooke agreed. "See, I like children that aren't my responsibility 24/7" Brooke laughed.

"Why, you don't want children?" Haley asked.

"I do, obviously, but later down the road…right now college and my career are my priorities"

"Agreed" Lucas said.

"Well Nathan and I have a little announcement" Haley said.

"What?"

"I'm pregnant"

"WHAT!" Lucas asked.

"Yeah"

"Told you Hales was preggers" Brooke giggled, kissing Lucas and flouncing to the kitchen.

_A couple days later…_

"She's pregnant? Oh my" Karen said. "How is she planning to deal with that and college?"

"I have no idea" Brooke shook her head. "But she'll manage…she's Haley. Plus both of them looked happy about it, so it's ok"

"Yeah…my poor babies aren't babies anymore" Karen sighed sadly and wiped the tables. And you guys leave for college in a month…and I'm gonna be a college mom…wow"

"Yeah" Brooke said. "At least Lucas and I will be together and Nathan and Haley and Peyton will be with us and Jake"

"Yeah…hey, listen to me"

"Hmm?"

"Stick together, ok? Be each other's support. With Nathan and Haley's baby and your marriage and Jake and Jenny, you guys are gonna need each other"

"I know…thank god I have them"

"Yeah…oh, you kids are so old"

"I know" Brooke laughed. "Well, we had to grow up sometime, right?

"Right" Karen said sadly.

_Meanwhile…_

"Nathan!" Haley cried. "You have me in a death grip!"

"I know…I'm gonna toss you into the ocean" Nathan laughed.

"No, you're not" Haley pouted. "I have a baby inside me, remember?"

"Oh shoot"

"Yeah…your future son or daughter, ahem…I'm so excited"

"Me too, me too" Nathan said, pulling Haley close to her and kissing her softly. "I love you so much, Haley…I'm so glad we're together again and I can't wait to have a baby with you and start a family"

"Yeah?"

"Yeah…but enough of this serious talk…come on, we have to go have a chocolate sundae fight"

"Oh Mr. Scott, you're going down!"

"Well Mrs. Scott" Nathan said, pulling Haley into a kiss. "We'll see about that"

* * *

"Aw, I can't believe we're leaving Tree Hill" Brooke whispered, wiping a tear.

"Hey baby, don't be sad…this'll always be our home" Lucas said, pulling his wife into a hug and kissing the top of her head.

"We've had so many memories in this town" Haley sighed sadly. "Our lives started and ended right here, in Tree Hill, North Carolina…guess you never appreciate it till it's gone, huh?"

"Yeah…but we'll come back one day with our families and our children and start a whole new generation of screwed up Tree Hill kids" Nathan laughed. "Come on, you guys…we gotta start driving"

"Hey, kids" Karen said. "Smile…I wanna take a picture of you guys going off to college" Karen snapped a photo. "Andy, bring Andrea out! I want her to say bye to her brothers and sisters…in law" Karen made a face. "Weird" she muttered.

"Andrea…bye baby" Brooke kissed the little girl. "I'll come visit you, ok?"

"Bye Andie…remember I'm the cooler brother" Lucas said, kissing the baby's forehead.

"Nu uh…" Nathan laughed, kissing his little sister bye.

"Remember, you 4…Tree Hill will always be your home" Karen said, hugging every one of them tightly. "And you're always welcome at the Café if you wanna stop by for a surprise visit"

"Bye ma" Lucas hugged his mother tightly.

"Bye baby" Karen sniffled a little and hugged Lucas.

"Bye!" Brooke shouted, jumping into the car.

"Don't forget I love all of you" Karen yelled after them.

"We love you too!" they all chorused back.

"Well tutor girl" Brooke said, hugging Haley's arm. "A whole new chapter of a whole new life"

**A/N: THE END! Ok so I'm definitely putting up a sequel, its called "Have I Told You Lately That I Love You"** **and its basically…well, you're gonna have to read to find out! Review!**


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